Seattle marijuana

Everything cannabis, pot, or weed in Seattle.

Will This Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Seattle Turn Into a Legal Cannabis Shop?

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The PDA Lounge (aka Patient Direct Access) did not win the recent marijuana retail license lottery, but is still holding onto hope with a decent ranking.

According to a spokesperson for the medical marijuana lounge located in the heart of Belltown, ‘the PDA Lounge ranked number 39’ in the lottery held by the Washington State Liquor Control Board. Only 21 retail marijuana licenses will be issued for the city of Seattle which does not include up to 7 licenses that are at-large. While the odds of a retail license falling to the 39th spot are quite slim, the spokesperson added that ‘it will take a while, maybe 2 years for everything to finally fall in place.’ Licensing is highly important and must be stuck to, to make sure businesses can run legally. The same can be said for music streaming in retail stores, they need to check out licensing companies to see which ones will let them play music in store. Looking at ascap vs bmi articles can make businesses aware and see which path to go down if needed.

With only 1 marijuana retail store presently allocated for Queen Anne, and 0 in Downtown, the Belltown location could be a prime location – especially nestled in the 2nd Avenue nightlife strip. In order for PDA to land a retail store here, they are going to need quite a bit of help. For example, either the majority of the marijuana retail hopefuls need to lose their spot in the lottery, or the Washington State Liquor Control Board and the State of Washington will need to issue more licenses. At this time, the latter seems most likely to happen. Especially, when you compare the limited number of retail stores in Seattle, when compared against recreational marijuana industries around the world.

Can you see Washington State issuing more retail licenses in the future? Could we also see marijuana bars or Amsterdam style coffeeshops in the near or distant future?

Two I-502 Rules Changes that Turned the Retail License Process into an Auction

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Originally, the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) had the following two rules:

  • A single applicant, or true party of interest, could submit a maximum of three applications for a retail marijuana license.
  • The landlord of a location for a proposed marijuana retail store could issue only one letter of intent.

Without notifying applicants, the WSLCB reversed both of these rules. This document proves it: http://www.booboobama.com/I-502_Unlimited_Applications_and_LOIs.pdf. In short, this has a devastating effect.

The more applications one party submits, the greater their odds are of winning a marijuana retail license.  For example, In a lottery where 48 applications were submitted for 6 available license:

  • If an applicant submitted 3 applications, their chance of winning one of the available licenses is 34%.
  • If an applicant submitted 15 applications, their chance of winning one of the available licenses is 92%.

This is entirely unfair and does not ensure an even playing field. Plain and simple, richer applicants could submit as many applications as possible, increasing their chances of winning a marijuana retail license. Big money interests could effectively :”buy” a license. This is exactly what the WSLCB promised it would never allow.

Allowing only one letter of intent per location was another way to ensure an even playing field. Locations are hard to find. Not many landlords are willing to lease a property which is to be used as a marijuana store, that also meets the 1000-foot setback requirement. Regardless, by reversing the original rule, many applicants who did the work to secure a hard-won letter of intent saw their competitive advantage disappear.

It’s important to note that these rule changes violated the “spirit of the law” to which the WSLCB is bound:

Initiative 502: Section (9) “For the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this act according to their true intent or of supplying any deficiency therein, the state liquor control board may adopt rules not inconsistent with the spirit of this act as are deemed necessary or advisable.”

How is letting “big money” take over, “necessary or advisable?”

But doesn’t the WSLCB have some process they’re supposed to follow when changing rules? As a matter of fact, it does:

The Administrative Procedure Act (RCW 34.05.325(6)) requires agencies to complete a concise explanatory statement before filing adopted rules with the Office of the Code Reviser. This statement must be provided to anyone who gave comment about the proposed rule making. Once persons who gave comment during this rule making have had a chance to receive this document, the Liquor Control Board will file the amended rules with the Office of the Coder Reviser.

Unfortunately, when it comes to these two rule changes, none of these things happened. There was no public review. No due process was performed. The WSLCB tried to claim the rules hadn’t been changed and were this way all along; the facts prove otherwise.

Not only were these rule changes a really bad idea, they aren’t even valid.

Girl Scout Cookies to be Sold in Recreational Pot Shops in Seattle and Other Marijuana Predictions

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How would you like to know the future of recreational marijuana in Seattle even though the legal industry has not yet officially begun? You impatient bastard… but we completely understand! What else are we supposed to think about during the next several weeks if we can’t speculate about the future of Seattle recreational marijuana and CBD canada? Sit around and wait?! Yeah right… In the meantime, you will find these marijuana statistics absolutely fascinating!

So, let’s begin! What might the Seattle weed industry look like in a year? A couple of years? Or even five years? I rub my hands around the crystal ball and…

Yeah right. Why use a crystal ball when we can see the future for ourselves?

The classic, surefire Delorean comes screeching to a halt, and just like the movie “Back to the Future II,” the doors fly open and future bound we ZZZZZZZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

1. Girl Scout Cookies Will Be Sold in Recreational Pot Stores in Seattle:

This isn’t about the Girl Scout Cookies marijuana strain. This is about those delicious cookies, we have all grown to love, that are usually sold outside of grocery stores around America. We have already witnessed the media frenzy surrounding the girl that made headlines by setting up shop outside a weed dispensary in San Francisco. Imagine the frenzy if these cookies made it inside the store!

If marijuana becomes more accepted over the years and we hear more stories of how cannabis is used to treat young kids like Charlotte Figi and her severe seizures, the possibility increases that marijuana shops in Seattle might carry the iconic cookies. Especially the Thin Mints and those lemony ones…YUM-E. Good tasting and also has many medical benefits, cbd oil is great for aches and pains and also has some great mental health benefits too.

Yes I know, marijuana is still a Schedule 1 controlled substance in the eyes of the Feds and not all states are on board. Not even close. It’s not going to happen now and it may not even happen in the future. But, if it ever does, it will most likely happen in a medical marijuana dispensary instead of a recreational pot shops in Seattle.

2. You Will Be Able to Smoke Inside of Seattle Recreational Marijuana Retail Shops

It is obvious that Colorado and Washington State didn’t put much thought into where the marijuana consumers will consume their purchase. Currently, in Seattle, designated areas to consume cannabis are far and few between. Recreational marijuana stores do not allow it, bars that serve alcohol are out of the question, and marijuana consumption is banned in parks. In fact, anywhere in view of the public can land you a fine. We are left scratching our heads with this one. Can you imagine walking into a bar, ordering a bottle of beer, and not drinking it until you get home? Neither can we. Smokers are left with no choice but to take themselves back to their homes.

The prediction? It’s just going to be a matter of time before Seattle recreational pot shops are allowed to open up their digs for marijuana consumption. This, we predict, will happen sooner than later.

3. Seattle Will Be a Bigger and Better Marijuana Tourism Destination Than Denver

Not only did we win the Stonerbowl (aka Superbowl), but I predict that Seattle will also become the pot tourism champion between the two legal cities. Sorry Denver, but, Seattle is an all-around better city, in my non-humble, completely biased opinion. Besides, we got Rick Steves, Bitches!

If you take a look at the general tourism stats, Denver wins the tourism contest by edging out Seattle in the total number of visitors. Now, pot tourism is a whole different animal – you don’t need to look any further than geographical location. While Colorado has a gazillion states surrounding it, which could potentially mean an influx of out-of-staters seeking cannabis, these states are predominantly conservative. Nothing wrong with that, except, conservatives aren’t as pot-happy as liberals. Not to worry though, there are other places in the country – like the Edgewater dispensary – that one can go to for marijuana.

On the other hand, even though Washington State is only bordered by 2 states – one of the states, Oregon, is so pot-happy that it may legalize the herb next elections. Now, let’s not forget the good chunk of Canada that borders Washington State. After years of Washington taking advantage of Canada’s young drinking age, it’s the Canadians turn to take advantage of Seattle’s marijuana.

Marijuana advocates out of Colorado have been boasting about the recent rise in pot tourism. These advocates point to an increase in hotel searches and an increase in sales for local marijuana tours, among other catalysts. I personally predict that the influx of tourism in the Pacific Northwest will be so great that there will be no argument for who is the marijuana capitol of the United States.

Oh, yeah…and Rick Steves. The famous traveler has made his living sending Americans overseas to explore Europe. Just give it some time, but I predict you will see the full-time traveller and I-502 advocate, Mr. Steves, sending travelers from Europe to the Emerald City.

4. Bill Clinton will “Experiment, but NOT Inhale (Again)” at the 2016 Seattle Hempfest

Mark your calendar, just in case, because you wouldn’t want to miss this! By August of 2016, I predict that 12 states will legalize marijuana, 70% of Americans will be for national legalization, and support for cannabis will be so great that it will be one of the main talking points of the Democratic presidential campaign. And lastly, I predict that president Bill Clinton will make a surprise visit to the Seattle Hempfest and act out his famous “I did not inhale” quote by lighting a joint, puffing, and not inhaling!

Because of Bill Clinton’s appearance, I predict that the popularity of the Democratic campaign will skyrocket overnight, as the popularity of Republican Presidential hopeful Jeb Bush will tank drastically. In a desperate attempt to salvage what’s left of his campaign, Bush announces that all republicans are closet smokers, hires Seth Rogen to roll him a cross joint, and attempts to smoke it on ‘The View.’ His campaign will literally go up in smoke as he sets the stage on fire.

Now it’s your turn! What are your predictions for the future of recreational marijuana in Seattle?