After partnering with an old friend, Euflora's two dispensaries in Aurora — on South Buckley Road and South Gun Club Road — are now offering recreational pot delivery to all of Aurora. The Colorado-based company has an agreement with Flyhi, a new marijuana delivery website.

Euflora secured the delivery permits from the state Marijuana Enforcement Division and City of Aurora, and also employs the drivers; Flyhi provides the software and customer-facing website. According to Flyhi Chief Operating Officer Ashley Chubin, over $1 million was spent on developing the service, which will be used exclusively by Euflora in the immediate future.

"Teaming up with Euflora, and them being so high-tech with the way their stores operate, it really works. We wanted to team up with Euflora because of that," Chubin says. "We wanted to to be the modern technology of cannabis."

Using Flyhi is similar to ordering food on your phone, Chubin explains, but with a few more requirements, such as proof of ID, signatures from the customer and delivery driver, and cash payments. Still, for marijuana users who are intimidated by a legal weed store, this service could be more comfortable — and a good option for anyone with transportation or mobility issues.

"We're hoping to get a whole new mix of people who wouldn't necessarily come into a dispensary," she says.

Aurora is the only city with dispensaries currently offering recreational marijuana delivery, but sales from delivery have yet to match expectations. The majority of the pot industry is banking on the market in Denver, where marijuana delivery was recently legalized but the service has yet to start.

According to the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses, two dispensaries have been approved for delivery, with nine applications pending. But none of the delivery services are up and running yet.
As bigger dispensary brands begin offering delivery, Chubin is confident that word will spread and the business will grow. On top of Euflora now offering delivery, the Green Solution, one of Colorado's largest dispensary chains, is poised to offer delivery from all five of its Aurora locations by September, according to CEO Steve Lopez, and the company has applied for a delivery permit in Denver, as well. Euflora, which also owns a Denver dispensary, plans to apply for a delivery permit in Denver before the end of 2021, Chubin notes.

Flyhi and Euflora have a partnership that dates back years, and even offered a clue to their current endeavor back in 2019. That year, they worked together on the Fly Hi 420 Festival (formerly the Denver 420 Rally), the annual 4/20 celebration at Denver's Civic Center Park — but a marijuana delivery service was always the main goal, Chubin says.

"This was a napkin idea about five years ago. When we started thinking about doing this and teamed up with Euflora, it was Euflora's idea for us to put the name on the festival," she explains. "The hope was, when delivery launched, the Fly Hi Fest would be the push for the delivery service. This was always the long-term idea."

After a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fly Hi 420 Fest is slated to return in 2022. Promises Chubin: "It's going to be off the hook."