How Much to Tip the Medical Marijuana Delivery Guy

If you’re the kind of person who needs a prescription for medical marijuana, you know how convenient delivery to your home can be. This came in especially handy in the dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many of us were locked in our houses with no hope of getting out. When we were in need, the delivery guys came through- it makes sense we should show a little gratitude. 

But how much is too much? How much is too little? Aside from the obvious and nauseating joke answer ($4.20), there are a few good rules of thumb for what you should and shouldn’t be tipping the medical marijuana delivery guy. 

Go too low, and you could peeve the guy who decides how fast your delivery gets to you. Go too high, and your wallet could end up feeling light. There’s a fine science to tipping delivery guys, and we’ve got all the details right here.

How Much is Too Little?

Valentine’s day, Christmas, and waiting for a delivery- just a few times you’ve probably asked this question. At restaurants and bars, we’re apt to tip a certain amount of money most every time, because our orders will stay the same for the most part. 

When we’re ordering for delivery, however, we’re going to encounter a few different factors. 

For one, delivering food to a table or drinks to a bar just a few steps away is a whole lot less expensive than driving order to a house. Driving entails gas, possible damages to a car, and in certain cases, lots of time. Carrying an order to a table is just a few simple steps. 

So, what does all of this add up to? Well, before we get into what a fair tip is, we have to remember that delivery drivers often don’t get paid minimum wage. So, if we don’t tip high enough our drivers won’t make anywhere close to a fair wage. 

Money’s No Excuse

Oftentimes people use the old excuse- I didn’t have enough money to tip. This, one hundred percent of the time, is completely false. If you have money to get delivery, you have money to tip. Cannabis delivery is a luxury, which means you have money to spare, which means you have enough to tip. So don’t skimp out. 

Drivers tend to get paid between six to eight dollars an hour, on the expectation that they’ll get tips. This is not ideal, but what it means is that you are responsible for a portion of their pay. Imagine if you went to your boss for a paycheck and only got half because he ‘didn’t have enough money’ to pay you. 

In addition to this, cannabis delivery guys shoulder the burden for gas, insurance, repairs, and every other car-related expense. 

Don’t Go Below 5

Therefore, the kind of tipping you do at a restaurant is going to be a lot different from the kind of tipping you do for a delivery guy. 15% may be an acceptable tip at a restaurant, where delivery to a table just involves a short walk, but with home cannabis delivery, it’s a no-go. 

Percent tips aren’t even really the best way to gauge tipping, because no matter what you ordered, the prices of gas, repairs, and the time it takes to get to your house, stay the same. 

Therefore, even if you only spent about five dollars, you should still probably tip an even five. This will get your driver above minimum wage for the hour, compensate him for the time it took to get to your home, and give him money for gas.

When to Use a Percentage

Many waiters and waitresses stress out over tip percentages, getting upset if a customer goes anywhere below fifteen percent. This is because waiters tend to get paid even less per hour than delivery drivers. Thus, you should make sure you’re always paying a good percentage when tipping at a restaurant. 

With cannabis delivery drivers, you have a bit more wiggle room. As someone who once drove delivery, I can tell you that seeing a $5 tip on a $30 order didn’t make me too upset despite the fact that it was only a 16% tip. It got me over minimum wage for the hour and gave me a little wiggle room, so it was fine. 

However, taking out an order totaling $70 or more and getting so low a tip started to get a little annoying. With medical marijuana, orders usually come in little packs. Therefore, carrying capacity is not usually a big issue. 

Still, delivery guys get a little annoyed seeing someone who can afford to drop $100 on marijuana, but not $9 on the delivery guy who made it possible. You might win a little sympathy considering the fact that it’s medicinal, but a lot of delivery guys are probably using medicinal marijuana, too, and they all have time to do this favor for you. 

So, when you get above the $40 range, you should probably start paying as a percentage. a 20-25% tip is more than enough to get someone over their minimum wage, pay for their expenses, and maybe leave a little over for some delivery of their own. It’s such a simple thing to do, and unlike during the COVID days, you can’t excuse yourself from a tip by saying you absolutely had to get delivery. 

Of course, this all changes if you’re somehow immobile, in which case a delivery guy’s sympathy will kick in. We understand if you can’t work, can’t make money, and have to get delivery.

All in All

All in all, the only real excuse for not tipping is if you’re immobile and don’t have any option besides delivery. In normal cases, cannabis delivery recipients should tip around $5, and 20-25% of their order when the overall price gets above $40. There’s a little wiggle room there but never go below $5 if you care.