San Diego company favors delivery model
SAN DIEGO – There’s a debate in the cannabis industry about whether sales will shift toward delivery models, or whether the traditional dispensary/retail model will continue to thrive.
Company: RX-C
Owners: Terry and Robbin Lynn
Location: San Diego, California
Employees: 5
Technically, RX-C has a brick-and-mortar dispensary in San Diego, but it’s by appointment only. Owners Terry and Robbin Lynn opted to focus the majority of their business on delivery sales.
“We’re in the gold-fever part of this industry,” Terry said. “Everyone is going crazy and trying to do everything at once.”
Many of the clients at RX-C are either first-time users or they haven’t used cannabis in more than 20 years. When new clients are verified, the Lynns set up a one-on-one consultation to talk with patients about their comfort level and experience with marijuana. After the consultation, patients can use RX-C’s delivery service from anywhere in San Diego County.
“We always say that we learn on both sides of the counter,” Robbin said. “When someone comes in and says, ‘I want to sleep. I’ve been on Ambien for the past 10 years,’ we have had 100 people over the past few years who have those same circumstances.”
Although the company doesn’t have its own grow or a sales floor, RX-C keeps its menu stocked with some of the top products in California. The Lynns believe they have an advantage because of their long-standing connections with growers from the Emerald Triangle.
One of the company’s main suppliers is Emerald Cup founder Tim Blake, Terry said.
“So I know exactly where all of my stuff comes from and how it’s grown,” he said. “These people are totally dedicated. That’s why they moved to the hills.”
Rather than operating as a recreational shop disguised as a medical dispensary, the Lynns have embraced a strictly medical approach, avoiding the flashiness of free product giveaways and promotional efforts led by bikini models and music stars.
“If we were doing recreational then we’d be doing the same thing,” Robbin said. “We don’t pretend to compete with that because we are on another level with the services we’re offering. It’s a business-oriented approach, because we’re business people.”
Even with the California residents voting on the legalization of recreational cannabis this fall, the Lynns still prefer to keep the single-patient, delivery-only format for RX-C.
Delivery services will be allowed under the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act as long as businesses are properly licensed. Cities and counties can ban deliveries with a local ordinance.