Medbox Supports an Outright Ban on Marijuana Vending Machines in San Diego

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., March 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Medbox, Inc. (OTC Markets: MDBX) (www.medboxinc.com), a leader in providing industry specific consulting services and patented systems to the medical and retail industries worldwide, sought to clarify how its technology is currently used in California and other medical marijuana states, after a series of media reports hyping the prospect of "pot vending machines" coming to California. Some of these reports, including two yesterday by local Bay Area affiliates of NBC and CBS News, featured a company whose product Medbox believes violates their federal patent (7,844,363 B1). The reports raised the prospect of customer-accessed machines coming to the Golden State.

"Although our patent covers direct patient access to our medication dispensing systems, we do not currently offer this configuration to any of our clients," said company founder Vincent Mehdizadeh, "That may be an option down the line, but for the time being it's not something our company condones. The stories we've been seeing on the news the last couple of weeks - hyping the threat of pot vending machines appearing on your local street corner - are exactly the type sensationalistic misrepresentations of our product that prompted us to file suit in federal court for patent infringement against the producers of a knockoff of our medicine dispensing machine, alarmingly touting "24 hour access."

Medbox states it is not fearful of losing market share to the company it is suing, but has decided to aggressively protect the integrity of its patented technology from being skewed in the media, based on inflammatory statements made by the alleged infringers.  

"I fully expect that our legal system will remedy the situation regarding the patent infringement committed by certain parties. It's unfortunate that the Medbox name and the very concept of automated medication dispensing continues to be sullied by a few irresponsible people who are not only stealing our intellectual property, but misusing it," added CEO Dr. Bruce Bedrick. "There may come a time when cannabis is so socially acceptable that it will be sold to the public by vending machines, but we're still a long way from that day. That's not what our machines do, and it isn't how we market them. We met with city leaders in San Diego today and voiced our support for measures banning patient accessed vending machines that dispense marijuana. We are currently working with the San Diego City Council to adopt measures that would clarify how our technology should be properly used by dispensary staff to limit abuse."

Medbox markets their patented dispensing machines to dispensary operators as a security, inventory control, and record-keeping device. The machine sits behind the counter and is accessed by dispensary employees to demonstrate strict adherence to legal requirements. Medbox says that it has turned away over 100 paying clients that wanted to establish dispensing machine locations that sell marijuana to patients without social interaction - a concept the company says is outlandish and unacceptable.

About Medbox, Inc: 

Medbox is a leader in the development, sales and service of automated, biometrically controlled dispensing and storage systems for medicine and merchandise. Medbox has offices throughout the world, including New York, Arizona, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Tokyo, London and Toronto, and has their corporate headquarters in Los Angeles.

Medbox provides their patented systems, software and consulting services to pharmacies, dispensaries, urgent care centers, drug rehab clinics, hospitals, prison systems, hospice facilities, and medical groups worldwide.

Medbox, Inc. is a publicly traded company, and is listed on the OTC Markets, ticker symbol MDBX.

For more information on Medbox, please contact the Medbox Investor Relations Department at (800) 762-1452 or go online to www.medboxinc.com.

SOURCE Medbox, Inc.