Right now, Nugg is a Web app that can be accessed on your phone, tablet, or computer. Qualified patients who already have a doctor’s note prescribing them medical marijuana can sign up get verified quickly in the Nugg app. Those who haven’t been diagnosed can even schedule an cannabis evaluation appointment with one of Nugg’s partner physicians. The doctors will evaluate your needs either in their own offices or at your home.
“We want it to be like ordering on Amazon. No matter which dispensary you ordered from, you know it’s high-quality.”
After cannabis patients have proven that they can legally buy marijuana for medical use, they can browse through Nugg’s selection of legal, high-quality cannabis providers nearby, as well as view detailed information about each kind of cannabis offered. Once they’ve found the type of marijuana they need, patients can place orders for pickup or delivery in just a few taps. They’ll have to e-sign the patient agreement for each collective that sells the marijuana.
The app will notify you when your order is ready, when you can pick it up, or when it will arrive at your doorstep. Just like Uber, you can watch the delivery’s progress, so you’ll be ready when the driver reaches your home. Of course, some parts of California don’t allow for home delivery, so Nugg had to navigate the tricky boundaries of local law.
Alex Milligan, the co-founder of Nugg, told Digital Trends that it’s met with local officials all over Southern California to make sure that the services offered in the app are legal in each specific area. If delivery is illegal in any given area, the patients will have to go pick up their order. However, Milligan says it’s super easy to pick up an order, because the app will let you know when it’s ready.
“You just walk into the dispensary, and they have a lane set up for you, which is basically the Nugg fast track,” he explained. “Your order is already prepackaged and ready to go.”
Not only does this make it easier for Nugg users to get their medical marijuana faster, but it also helps dispensaries fill orders more efficiently. The app’s creators are also very intent on making each patient’s experience as seamless as possible, even though it doesn’t control many aspects of the process. That’s why Nugg only partners with select dispensaries that meet its requirements as well as all the legal rules of the state.
In order to ensure that the weed sold through Nugg is high-quality and the providers are living up to their high standards, the app asks users to review the dispensary and the marijuana purchased shortly afterwards.
“We’re looking for partners that are genuinely interested in the well-being of their patients,” Milligan said. “People tend to stick with dispensaries that they like because it’s very personal.”
The ideal transaction on Nugg is just like any purchase you’d make online, said Milligan.
“You know it will be a good product because you’ve researched it or it’s from a brand you trust,” he explained. “We want it to be like ordering on Amazon. You open the box, and no matter which dispensary you ordered from, you know it’s high-quality … We want to recreate that Christmas morning feeling.”
For the time being, Nugg will be available in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas, though it could expand into other states.
Nugg is currently a Web app accessible from any smartphone, but it doesn’t yet have a native iPhone or Android applications due to the restrictions that both app stores place on cannabis-related applications, according to the company. It expects to port a version to iPhone and Android in the next few months that won’t display product prices or allow an actual in-app purchase. Nugg is making some strides in easing the process of buying medical marijuana, but nothing’s ever completely easy when it comes to obtaining or selling cannabis.
Visit GetNugg.com for more info.
