Black Market Blues? Here’s How To Buy Cannabis Online

If you’ve been struggling in your efforts to buy cannabis online, this handy guide will help you find everything you need to know about the process. Skip the plug and the black market altogether with these tips.

Is it legal to buy cannabis online?

Weed’s legal status is in a gray area on a state-by-state basis. In some fully recreational states, you can buy cannabis online and have it delivered right to your door through a delivery service. However, some recreational states still don’t allow for weed delivery, and you have to make your purchase in person at the dispensary. Some states even have mixed terms where you can have weed with a prescription, but, if you’re caught without it, you’re facing possession charges.

With that said, it’s important to always check the local and state laws in your area if you’re looking to buy weed online. In most cases, you can’t. However, THC alternatives that are derived from hemp are legal under the 2018 Farm Bill and can legally be purchased online. Delta-8 THC, for example, is synthesized from CBD, so it’s legal, but it feels just like ordinary THC with slightly less intense effects. More importantly, it isn’t a schedule 1 controlled substance.

Below we’re covering a few ways to buy cannabis online, wherever you may be. Just keep in mind that there are guidelines, and laws are subject to change. Always check the laws in your state before purchasing marijuana online.

[Also read Ill-equipped? Here’s How To Smoke Weed Without a Pipe]

How to buy cannabis online if you live in a legal state?

If you live in a state where weed is legal for recreational use, you can usually just place an order online and have it delivered to your home. In states like California, there are several B2C apps available for finding weed, ordering it online, and having your products delivered to you at home, like you would with Postmates or Door Dash. However, there are still some fully recreational states that don’t allow for deliveries, like Colorado. You’ll have to go to the dispensary in person and you won’t be able to buy weed online.

When it comes to medical states, many do allow for weed delivery and buying bud online. The logic is that if you’re ordering your medicine, you must be too sick to get to the dispensary or find a caretaker to buy your products for you. Some will allow you to buy weed online and have it delivered through a courier service that will check your prescription, medical ID, and regular ID before delivering your products. However, just like legal states, many medical states don’t allow for online orders and delivery.

Every state has tried to reinvent the wheel when it comes to cannabis and regulation. What works in California might not work in other places, so each state has worked hard to rebuild the system and pick and choose what’s legal and what’s illegal. Even in fully recreational states, online orders might be illegal. In some places, like Washington DC, you can’t buy cannabis online directly. However, you can buy an overpriced sticker or t-shirt and choose what type of weed gift they bring you with your order. Every legal state is a little bit different, so we can’t stress enough how important it is to familiarize yourself with the laws in your area.

Best brands to buy cannabis online in legal states

If you’re on the hunt for a place to start buying weed online, check out these top 5 brands. Each one is located in a legal state, so you’ll simply download their apps, upload your documents, and then you can just kick back and relax.

1. 420DC — 420DC is a great place to buy weed online if you live in DC. They have lots of different listings that can help you find the products you want and also have them delivered to your door legally. If you’re visiting the DC area, they’ll even deliver your weed to your hotel with no fuss. You’ll simply place an order for a t-shirt or a sticker or make a donation and receive cannabis gifts for free. Perfectly legally.
2. Eaze — Eaze has everything you need in California, from flowers to edibles to vape cartridges and concentrates. All you have to do is buy your weed online and they’ll coordinate your delivery while you kick back and relax. Their app is very responsive and they offer unmatched customer service. Best of all, every product in the Eaze lineup has undergone stringent 3rd party testing for safety.
3. Leafly – Leafly is the national marketplace for all things weed. In legal states, they allow you to buy weed online using their online ordering system. In some places where delivery is also allowed, they’ll help coordinate deliveries in your area. Leafly’s system is an OG in the space, and practically everyone is familiar with their in-depth strain profiles and reviews.
4. Kushfly — Kushfly delivers both weed and liquor in Los Angeles. They have an all-star product selection and allow for deliveries to 21+ recreational cannabis users. Out of all the services on this list, Kushfly has mastered its area. They’re always throwing great deals and discounts around and offer some of the best customer services we’ve seen.
5. Weedmaps — Weedmaps is another national marketplace that everyone is familiar with. Like Leafly, they’ve built a system that allows you to order weed online from your favorite dispensaries nearby. If the state you are in allows for deliveries, they’ll also help you coordinate it.

How to buy cannabis online if you live in a state where cannabis is illegal

Buying cannabis online is a lot trickier in states where cannabis isn’t fully legal yet. With that in mind, most states where cannabis is illegal to utilize THC alternatives instead. THC alternatives are synthetic forms of THC that are legal under the Farm Bill, which legalized hemp, CBD, and hemp and CBD derivatives. However, this puts some THC alternatives in a legal gray area themselves.

THC alternatives are neither legal nor illegal for the most part. However, eleven states have already moved to ban alternatives like Delta-8 THC and THC-O because they’re so similar to THC, a controlled substance. However, they’re federally legal. In many states without legal weed, many people are using Delta-8 THC instead.

With that said, ordering Delta-8 THC online is straightforward and easy, as long as it hasn’t yet been banned in your state. There are dozens of online vendors selling Delta-8 THC and shipping it straight to your door. You don’t need anything to order Delta-8 online.

Delta-8 THC vs. Delta-9 THC

THC and Delta-8 THC aren’t all that different at the end of the day. Delta-8 THC products are quite literally the closest legal thing you can get to weed, and, more importantly, it’s legal to buy online. Delta-8 is illegal in 11 states, but it’s legal to ship with the US Postal Service. So if you’re outside an illegal state, you can have it shipped quickly and easily with perfect legality.

But what exactly is Delta-8 THC and how is it different from Delta-9 THC (regular THC)? Delta-8 THC is synthesized from the CBD found in hemp plants. CBD will undergo a few chemical reactions until it changes into a THC molecule. However, unlike the controlled Delta-9 THC, it has a double bond on its 8th carbon chain while Delta-9 has the bond on its ninth chain.

This small difference means that Delta-8 and Delta-9 feel practically the same and offer the same effects. However, the position of the double bond in Delta-8 THC makes it harder for our endocannabinoid systems to process. It ultimately feels less potent than Delta-9 THC, but still offers all of the same benefits. Since it’s less intense than Delta-9 THC, Delta-8 THC has less unpleasant side effects, such as anxiety, too.
Delta-8 THC products are available at a lot of different online stores and are your best bet if you want to buy cannabis online legally in an illegal state. They feel the same, just a little less potent.

[Also read Heads Up: You Can Get Arrested for Marijuana Paraphernalia]

Best brands to buy cannabis online in illegal states

If you’re ready to jump on the Delta-8 and THC alternative train, here are a few of the most trusted brands. Each one reviewed below only sells legal products that have lab testing results under 0.3% THC, making them legal to buy online.

Just be sure to make sure you only buy Delta-8 products from trusted online stores with quality customer service and good reviews. Their products should be 3rd party lab tested. When it comes to unregulated hemp-derived products and synthetic cannabinoids, you want to make sure you’re only buying the safest products money can buy. Hemp and CBD industries are still highly unregulated, so take extra caution to protect yourself and make sure that you’re buying cannabis online from a reputable company.

1. The Hemptender — Based in North Carolina, this mom and pop shop operates two storefronts offering hemp products, Delta-8, and other THC alternatives. All of the items in their extensive product selection come from the largest, most trusted brands in the nation. The Hemptender has fantastic customer reviews and takes care of all the legal stuff for you. You can buy their products online and simply wait for them to be delivered.
2. Diamond CBD — Diamond CBD has the largest selection of THC alternatives for sale online. Their shopping experience is rather unique since it allows you to pick products based on your desired effects or intended uses, creating a wellness-driven experience. They even offer everything from CBD to Delta-8 THC products in edibles, topicals, tinctures, and vapes.
3. Exhale Wellness — If you’re a big believer in Delta-8 edibles, start with Exhale Wellness. They offer non-GMO, organic, and fully-vegan options that taste great and provide you with the best possible Delta-8 experience. If you want to buy flowers, you’re in luck with Exhale, too! Here you can find Delta-8 cartridges, flowers, pre-rolls, concentrates, and cigarettes with clean lab testing results.
4. Bud Pop — Bud Pop offers some seriously unmatched potency. You’ve likely seen their ads in Forbes magazine and the LA Times, depicting a dreamy feast for the eyes and the soul. The site matches you with your Delta-8 preferences and has some of the best reviews anywhere online. Everything is made with distillate for the best flavors and is fully vegan and GMO-free. Here you can find Delta-8 Gummies, Delta-8 Flowers, Delta-8 Cartridges, and CBD Flower.
5. 3Chi — 3Chi is a meditative wellness brand that has surged in popularity over the last few years as it was made by a biochemist with 15 years of experience. They offer the best value on all of your favorite Delta-8 products, CBN, CBD, CBC products, focused blends, and Delta6a10a THC. Their products combine Delta-8 THC with broad-spectrum hemp oil and terpenes to offer you the best flavors and effects. Best of all, everything is perfectly natural and certified clean by 3rd party labs.

Final Thoughts: Buy Cannabis Online

Buying weed online can be a tricky thing to figure out if you don’t know where to look. With so many different retailers out there only catering to certain states or only offering a limited product line, we hope you use the brands we’ve listed in this article to find anything you might need. Whether you’re looking for legal online deliveries of traditional THC products and cannabis flowers or if you’re just looking for THC alternatives like Delta-8 THC, we trust these brands.

If you don’t see anything you like, you can always explore more brands on your own. Just make sure that whichever company you decide to purchase from is reputable. Always check customer reviews and make sure that the company you buy from has stringent 3rd party lab testing on all of their products. You should also be able to access the test results directly from the site.

If you’re choosing to buy cannabis online, you care about your health and your safety. Keep your house in order and always triple-check the local laws and regulations in your area before making any purchases. Make sure your products are tested and safe and that you aren’t breaking any laws in your state when you buy cannabis online.

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