"Excited to have a positive impact, providing a solution for our Black community, stay in line with marijuana laws, avoid unnecessary interactions with police."
“[Drivers who possess cannabis] can violate the law, maybe not even knowing they’re violating if it’s not in a sealed container,” Sarah noted. PHOTO BY LOCKGREEN PRODUCTS INSTAGRAM
Sarah and Ronald Morton are locking down their place as cannabis entrepreneurs.
The couple, who are “longtime supporters of marijuana law reform and minority representation in the cannabis industry,” have developed LOCKGREEN, a lockable stash box for road-tripping cannabis consumers, reports 13News Now.
The hope is that the stash box will lessen the number of BIPOC cannabis consumers targeted by law enforcement.
“It’s so important for us to be involved positively in this industry, knowing Black communities have been disproportionately affected,” Sarah Morton told 13News Now. “Perhaps people couldn’t get in trouble for having marijuana, but they could for travelling with it in the wrong way.”
While their home state of Virginia legalized simple possession of adult-use cannabis as of July 1 this year, residents over the age of 21 are only permitted to travel with up to one ounce of cannabis flower, and drivers must store their weed in a sealed container.
“[Drivers who possess cannabis] can violate the law, maybe not even knowing they’re violating if it’s not in a sealed container,” Sarah noted.
The LOCKGREEN box is currently available for pre-order, with the product hitting shelves in late August or early September.
But when and if the box hits the Canadian market, consumers should know that depending on where the box is kept and what is stored in it, the product may not be compliant with provincial regulations, which vary. Most provinces, however, prohibit drivers from storing cannabis within the vehicle or outside of sealed packages, dictating that drivers stash their weed in the trunk.
In Ontario, for example, drivers are prohibited from travelling with open containers of cannabis not in their original packaging, and the weed cannot be “packed in baggage” or accessible to anyone in the car. B.C. has similar rules.
Virginia NORML also advises that driver stash their weed in the trunk, or “in the area behind the last upright seat…out of reach of the driver.”
While the couple waits for the product to launch, Sarah Morton looks forward to having what she hopes will be a positive impact on the cannabis community in Virginia and beyond.
“Excited to have a positive impact, providing a solution for our Black community, stay in line with marijuana laws, avoid unnecessary interactions with police,” she said.