Snoop Dogg in drug delivery deal with Eaze
RAPPER Snoop Dogg will be hoping for high returns as one of the backers of a marijuana delivery start-up that raised $10m (£6.8m) in a funding round yesterday, under his company Casa Verde Capital.
Silicon Valley firm DCM Venture is also backing Eaze – dubbed the “Uber for weed”. It does not directly supply marijuana, but instead connects California medical marijuana card-carriers with local dispensaries, claiming it can hook users up with the drug in under 10 minutes. Technically, it is not breaking any law, even though recreational use of marijuana in California is still illegal.
The firm became the first marijuana startup to attract international investors when it raised $1.5m last year, and has made 3,000 deliveries since its launch.
It has ambitious plans for growth, including a goal to hire 50 people in 50 days, and plans to expand into other locations where marijuana is legally available, such as Alaska, Washington DC and Colorado, which all legalised recreational marijuana. Another 23 US jurisdictions permit medicinal use of the drug.