Pubdate: Wed, 08 Feb 2012
Source: East Bay Express (CA)
Copyright: 2012 East Bay Express
Contact: http://posting.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/SubmitLetter/Page
Website: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1131
Author: David Downs

A WEED APPS ROUNDUP

There's been an explosive growth in smartphone app usage, despite 
federal finger-wagging over marijuana.

Medical cannabis patients are increasingly turning to their 
smartphones to easily find deals of the day, scan dispensary menus, 
and even schedule some dispensary-provided yoga. A tour of the Apple 
App Store and the Android Market reveals a rapidly advancing world of 
weed apps amid the crackdown by the US Department of Justice. Whether 
it's studying up on strains, finding a physician who specializes in 
the medicinal herb, staying informed, or ending prohibition, the 
needs of the medical cannabis industry are playing out on mobile technology.

Leafly: On January 26, classy strain encyclopedia Leafly launched the 
free Android version of its free iPhone app, which rounds out 
Leafly's digital presence since the eighteen-month-old business reset 
the bar on site design. The Orange County company reports 1,000 app 
downloads a day, and 40 percent of those downloaders convert into 
weekly Leafly App users. In the last 30 days, iPhone users have 
looked at 500,000 strain reports and 50,000 photos. The site started 
with 50 official strain reviews and is now up to 520, plus some 2,500 
less-detailed entries. More than 17,000 reviews have been posted and 
2,000 strain pics have been uploaded since Leafly launched the feature.

The three coders who started Leafly have quit their day jobs, hired 
three more employees, and are in the process of hiring five more. The 
October crackdown has been the biggest hurdle for the growing 
company, said Scott Vickers, Leafly co-founder and developer. "It's a 
weird kind of time but it's exciting," he said. "The uncertainty in 
the market seems to have driven patients our way in search of more 
information."

LegalMaps (iOS)/WeedMaps (Android): The free mobile version of 
WeedMaps.com has been downloaded around 250,000 times for Android and 
350,000 times on iPhone. "We get more traffic to the website through 
Android and iPhone than we get through just the website now," said 
site cofounder Justin Hartfield.

WeedMaps boasts a massive national dispensary database with menus 
that the company updates frequently. Travelers often use it to find 
new clubs, and then review their experiences. Even with the 
crackdown, LegalMaps is seeing more downloads and should soon edge 
into the top 25 medical apps in the App Store.

Harborside Health Center: The West Coast's largest dispensary has a 
free app to match its stature, garnering 4.5 out of 5 stars in the 
Apple App Store based on 69 reviews since its April 20 update. HHC's 
massive menu is on the app, but the catch here is that products sell 
out faster than the inventory management system can keep track of 
them, so don't rush down to the dispensary with one thing in mind. 
The app's piped-in Twitter feed is a better source for up-to-the 
minute inventory.

Users can also check the app's Deal of the Day for specials like 
"Free $15 hash with $150 purchase." Harborside's robust patient 
services calendar is accessible as well, helping patients schedule 
reiki, naturopathy, yoga, and acupuncture services.

The Vapor Room: The Haight Street institution in San Francisco just 
overhauled its Facebook presence and partnered with The Bold Italic 
and Noise Pop on a pop-up shop (we've always liked their style). A 
sort of clone of the HHC app, The Vapor Room's free app (and eight 
others) are powered by San Francisco company MyDispensaryApp, a 
subsidiary of medical cannabis angel investor network The ArcView 
Group, headed by Troy Dayton, who is also the co-founder of Students 
for Sensible Drug Policy. Dayton tells Legalization Nation that 
MyDispensaryApp was created to serve Harborside, but the demand for 
apps surprised the angel network and taxed its resources. "They just 
took off," Dayton said of the apps.

Dayton also said that MyDispensaryApp was recently acquired for an 
undisclosed sum by Los Angeles company StickyGuide.com, a leading 
dispensary profile directory with menus. StickyGuide owner Nick 
Miller said that even mom-and-pop shops have real-time inventory 
needs, much like Apple's Mac store. When clubs run out of advertised 
product by the time the patient arrives, it infuriates them. "The 
inventory is so boutique. All these products are different and in 
such limited supply that it adds a whole other level of urgency to 
it," Miller said. "So many people are checking menus every hour for 
new stuff and rushing down there trying to get it before it sells out."

StickyGuide intends to cut app development costs for dispensaries and 
improve on what MyDispensaryApp built. Planned features include 
online ordering, so reserving that hot strain is just a click away.

The cannabis app space is still a veritable green field for 
developers, Miller said, though the October crackdown "shook everyone 
up," he said. "It's two steps forward, one step back.

"The short term might be iffy but the long term has never been 
better," Dayton added.

Americans for Safe Access: "Call your Congressperson" features for 
the organization's iPhone and iPad apps are just the beginning of 
tech-enabled activism.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom