A Marijuana Vending Machine – no I’m not joking, though of course you couldn’t put one of these in Australia. In LA however its a different matter.
Herbal Nutrition Center has installed these Marijuana Vending Machines in two dispensaries which are open 24/7. You first need a prescription from your doctor, the machine then fingerprints you and you have to do a heap of other id checks – but then out pops your marijuana.
Most people believe they are making independent decisions. In reality, they are responding to systems they cannot see. From algorithms to economic structures to social norms, the real driver of behaviour is rarely the individual—it’s the environment shaping what feels possible, reasonable, or true.
Most environments are designed to stimulate. The most effective ones do the opposite. Calm doesn’t slow decisions—it improves them.
Some environments push behaviour. Others remove the need to push at all. The difference lies in how friction is designed—or eliminated.
Aldi doesn’t just sell groceries differently—it changes how people think, choose, and move. This is what happens when you design for constraint instead of abundance.