Eaze-ing Into a New State: Delivering Cannabis and a New Driving Opportunity

Interested in a new delivery career? If you live in California or Michigan, you may qualify to become a marijuana delivery driver with Eaze! Eaze is one of our top weed delivery services, and they’ve recently made news for expanding into the Midwest. Our deliverer extraordinaire, Dash Bridges, outlines the new changes to Eaze and what you need to know about signing up to deliver with Eaze.

I started DoorDashing in September 2015. After nearly three years keeping stats, learning efficiencies, and maximizing my earnings per shift, I felt like I maxed out my Dasher earnings potential. As someone who was prompt, trustworthy and a problem solver, I wondered if there were Dashing-adjacent jobs where I could do something more significant than delivering Chipotle. Something that requires more vetting and more value. 

As it turned out, that job exists! Eaze was and is the most well-known gig economy app for delivering cannabis products. Back in the summer of 2018, I tried my hand at delivering cannabis products for Eaze. Long story short: I applied. I drove. I made great money.  

Quick summary:

  • California and Michigan delivery drivers only – you’ll be a W-2 delivery driver with shifts, but you can keep your tips!
  • Looking for more weed delivery opportunities? Check out our best weed delivery services here 
  • Cannabis delivery not available in your state? Check out these other best delivery services

What is Eaze?

Cannabis product delivery IS a step up from food delivery/rideshare because a) it’s a controlled substance, and b) you may have hundreds or thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise in your car at any time. 

It’s serious business, and Eaze presents itself in a professional manner. Among other things, snarky references to past weed stereotypes are gone. Like the other delivery apps, they’re focused on efficiency and predictability among their ‘weed nerd’ customer base. Their new tagline is Highly Calculated Delivery.

Signing Up to Drive for Eaze Delivery

Beginning with the driver application, there are clear differences between traditional food delivery and driving for Eaze. Although you apply online like other apps, you interview with a real person (Zoom interviews during COVID) representing Eaze’s network operations subsidiary, Stachs. 

eaze delivery
What you’ll see when you go to sign up to deliver with Eaze

If and when you’re hired, you become an actual W-2 employee, not a 1099 contractor. You will be fingerprinted at the local police jurisdiction (again, controlled substance) and receive training on good safety practices. 

You have a supervisor to report to for schedules, and whatever hours/shifts you agree to, you’re expected to make them, and make them on time. Furthermore, Eaze started a driver safety program designed to incentivize adhering to speed limits and traffic laws. Not only is it good corporate policy, but publicity about reckless cannabis drivers could be devastating in this highly-scrutinized industry.

Driving for Eaze: Delivering Cannabis with Eaze

Driving and delivering marijuana with Eaze is pretty straightforward. You will begin shifts by driving to your retail depot, which is a specific location. There you will get your cash (to make change), vehicle security items, and gather your orders. 

Your orders are already packed in a heavy-duty Ziploc-type bag. You don’t need to check it, and you never touch the product itself. And no, your car does not take on a skunky smell. 

Furthermore, while some orders are for one evening’s worth of smoking, other orders are potentially worth hundreds of dollars as companies offer medicines, creams, gummies, etc. You will be trusted with valuable merchandise and interact with customers, sometimes making change. 

Unlike food delivery, where you drive from restaurant to restaurant, when you finish your first set of Eaze deliveries, you will return to the same retail depot to pick up additional orders. You repeat this process until the end of your shift. 

At that time you will bring back your money and any cancelled deliveries (customer not available, no ID, etc) back to the depot.

How Are Eaze Delivery Drivers Paid?

With your W-2 status, you’re paid hourly. And while the per hour rate is modest, you can earn handsomely in other ways. 

Of course, you keep delivery tips. Many of them are in the $3-$5 range, but sometimes customers tip commensurate with the high-dollar order values. 

The real kicker is your mileage reimbursement. As a W-2 employee, Eaze is required to reimburse you $0.56 for every mile you drive while on the clock (this exact amount is subject to change based on IRS guidelines). That’s $0.56/mile TAX FREE. 

Similar to my DoorDash experience, while at Eaze I averaged about 17 miles driven per hour. 17 miles x $0.56 = $9.52 tax free per hour in addition to the flat hourly wage and tips. If your work/school/life situation allows for the additional structure and responsibility of cannabis delivery, you can end up making far more money on an hourly basis.

Is Delivering Marijuana With Eaze Legal?

Cannabis laws are mostly left to states, and legality varies. Many western states welcome regulated marijuana sales, some states provide allowances for medicinal purposes only, and three states, Idaho, Nebraska, and Kansas, don’t allow legal marijuana for any reason. Still, the cultural tide for marijuana decriminalization continues, and governments like the tax revenue opportunities.

A variety of states are trying to gain a foothold in this industry, and Eaze sees enough potential in one of them to make their first expansion outside of California. Is it Oregon? Washington? Colorado? No, no, and no.

Eaze Expands Into the Midwest

It’s Michigan.

According to this survey, Michigan has the highest percentage of casual cannabis users in the Midwest, and 11th highest in the US. In 2018, Michigan was the first state in the region to approve the recreational use of marijuana, and the legal market is going through a complicated transition

Eaze sees this landscape as an opportunity, and they’re looking to make an impact. While offering its traditional delivery services, Eaze also created a business accelerator called Momentum. This program is designed to support emerging cannabis businesses in the form of cash grants, networking and mentorship.  

So, for all you Michiganders, Mitten Staters, Wolverines, Great Lakers, you can start applying for positions in the Detroit metro area soon. You can check for announcements at eaze.com. If your schedule allows it, and your background is legally boring, you should give it a try. 

Should You Deliver for Eaze?

If you live in California or Michigan and are interested in marijuana delivery, you should absolutely check out Eaze. You will have to stick to a schedule with Eaze, versus the ‘sign on and drive whenever’ that you can do with some of the other top delivery services. However, that’s because of the nature and legal requirements of delivering weed to adults.

If you’re looking to branch out into new delivery opportunities, don’t mind a W-2 job, and want to try a new delivery service, Eaze could be a great option.

What questions do you have about driving for a marijuana delivery service like Eaze?

-Dash @ RSG