i+D - March/April 2019 - 36
By Brian Libby
A Growi
Oppo
Cannabis dispensaries
offer a new frontier
for retail designers, as
well as a regulatory
obstacle course
It's not often that an entire retail industry in
North America begins from scratch. But, since
the legalization of marijuana in a number of
U.S. states, be it solely for medicinal purposes
or for recreational use as well, dispensaries have
begun to open all over the nation. And, with
Canada recently becoming the second nation to
fully legalize recreational use of the substance,
the trend is only blossoming further.
The design of these establishments draws from
generations of knowledge about retail design,
but dispensaries come with their own challenges
and opportunities. If design can overturn
preconceived notions about heretofore illegal
cannabis (a term the dispensary industry prefers),
it can help to create a new retail segment while
exploring collaborations between interior design,
branding, and packaging.
The first dispensaries began to appear with
California's 1996 legalization of the once-banned
drug for medical use-initially not as retail
establishments, but as collectives formed to
share and distribute home-grown product.
Today, 33 U.S. states have legalized medicinal
use, which, in many cases, is now beginning
to include retail dispensaries. This has particularly
accelerated since legalization of recreational
cannabis began in 2012 with Colorado
and Washington, then followed by Alaska and
36
Oregon in 2014. Today, 10 states and the
District of Columbia allow recreational use.
And, the proliferation of recreational-use states
has prompted dispensary construction, not just
in those locations, but in the more plentiful
medical-only states as well. More than ever,
the stigma is disappearing along with the
illegality, with cannabis companies now willing
to invest in design to reach broader audiences
and demographics.
"We are currently witnessing a seismic shift
in the design of dispensaries," says Jeben Berg,
chief creative officer for Venice, California-based
Composite Agency LLC, a branding consultancy
that works exclusively with the cannabis industry.
"We've moved from the oftentimes makeshift
beginnings that many of the medical cannabis
providers worked from to warm inviting spaces
that create a sense of welcome and community,
complete with the modern retail attributes
we have come to expect from stores like
Apple or Microsoft."
i+D - March/April 2019
i+D - March/April 2019
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i+D - March/April 2019
Contents
i+D - March/April 2019 - Cover1
i+D - March/April 2019 - Cover2
i+D - March/April 2019 - 3
i+D - March/April 2019 - 4
i+D - March/April 2019 - 5
i+D - March/April 2019 - 6
i+D - March/April 2019 - 7
i+D - March/April 2019 - 8
i+D - March/April 2019 - 9
i+D - March/April 2019 - Contents
i+D - March/April 2019 - 11
i+D - March/April 2019 - 12
i+D - March/April 2019 - 13
i+D - March/April 2019 - 14
i+D - March/April 2019 - 15
i+D - March/April 2019 - 16
i+D - March/April 2019 - 17
i+D - March/April 2019 - 18
i+D - March/April 2019 - 19
i+D - March/April 2019 - 20
i+D - March/April 2019 - 21
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i+D - March/April 2019 - Cover3
i+D - March/April 2019 - Cover4
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