Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said on CNBC Monday that the ride-hailing company would consider getting into cannabis delivery “when the road is clear.”
“When federal laws come into play, we’re absolutely going to take a look at it,” Khosrowshahi said.
Khosrowshahi made the remarks as part of a conversation about Uber’s February acquisition of Boston-based alcohol delivery service Drizly. Not part of that $1.1 billion acquisition was Lantern, a cannabis delivery service Drizly launched in May 2020. Lantern continues to operate independently.
Cannabis remains illegal at the federal level, but about three dozen US states have decriminalized the drug, either for medical or recreational purposes — some for both uses. Last month, New York passed the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, legalizing the recreational use and expunging the records of people who were convicted on marijuana-related charges that are no longer criminalized.
And although legislation to legalize marijuana at the federal level has not been successful the past several years, Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in February that they would work together to advance comprehensive cannabis reform legislation in the current Congress. All three senators had previously supported legislation to decriminalize cannabis in some form.
Uber declined to provide additional comment about Khosrowshahi’s remarks. The CEO told CNBC that in the near future, Uber will continue to focus on building out its delivery business. “For right now with grocery, with food, with alcohol, etc., we see so much opportunity out there and we’re going to focus on the opportunity at hand.”
