Vending machines have long been used to hawk everything from Skittles and sandwiches to juice and java, but now one is being used to offer a new product: medical marijuana.

Not just anyone can pop some coins in and get some bud. The machine, developed by Los Angeles medical-marijuana dispensary owner Vincent Mehdizadeh, gives up to an ounce of pot per week only to preapproved patients.

The specialized machine installed Monday at Herbal Nutrition Center - a medical-marijuana dispensary on La Cienega Boulevard - requires fingerprint identification as well as a special prepaid card.

“I wanted to take steps to benefit the industry,” said Mehdizadeh, who owns two dispensaries. “We have legitimate patients that need us.”

Indeed. Our most counter-productive laws are drug prohibition laws, especially against pot. Criminalizing weed that might ease someone’s pain just because someone else might get a giggle from it is cruel.

Still, this entrepreneur might want to rebrand his five kinds of marijuana:

…Platinum Kush, Fire O.G., Bubba Kush, Purple Kush and Wild Cherry.

Doesn’t sound like medicine. Someone pass the Screaming Yellow Zonkers.