Seattle marijuana

Everything cannabis, pot, or weed in Seattle.

Three Changes I would Like to Happen for the Seattle Marijuana Industry

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Marijuana legalization is slowly making its way through various states in the country, with Ohio possibly becoming the next legalized state. Every state’s legalization is unique, and the freedoms that come along with legalization vary. For example, Portland has public places where people can gather and smoke cannabis they brought with them; whereas, in Alaska, public consumption of marijuana may result in a $100 fine. Seattle has some excellent retailers and an inspiring industry. Though, there are three particulars in Seattle’s industry that I would love to see actioned.

We Really Need Public Spaces to Come Together and Smoke

High Above Seattle wrote an article about this before, but it is an important issue which deserves further recognition. Portland just opened its own public establishment where people can come to smoke together. Patrons bring their own cannabis to use and paraphernalia is provided by the establishment. This solves the issue of purchasing marijuana and having nowhere to consume it if you are a tourist, or if you live somewhere where you are not allowed to smoke indoors.

Tourists are very limited in where they can enjoy cannabis in Seattle. Really, everyone is limited. Sure, here you can buy weed online or at a local dispensary, but you’ll have to make sure you smoke it in the comfort of your home (or a friend’s). It would be wonderful to have a couple of businesses where people can meet up, much like they do at a bar, to enjoy cannabis together. This would not only help the industry, it would help individuals become acquainted with others who share interests and learn more about cannabis together.

The Freedom to Grow Cannabis at Home

In many respects, Washington is not as liberal as other legal states in regards to its cannabis laws. In Colorado, a household is allowed to grow up to six plants, with three flowering at a time. Home-growing in Seattle is illegal, due in part to the tight hold that the government wishes to have on the industry along with the fact that this could potentially facilitate easier black-market dealings.

Oregonians are also allowed to grow their own plants, four plants per residence to be precise. Washington also does not allow legal, large-scale growers to sell their own cannabis and are instead required to go through retailers; other legal states allow growers to sell, which helps growers profit even more.

Growing cannabis in your own home would be an excellent freedom in Washington.

No More Cannabis-Specific Drug Testing for Employment

When I first moved to Washington I was enamored by the industry and excited for employees who worked for employers who would have drug tested before cannabis was made legal, believing now those employees could smoke and no longer worry about keeping their job. When I relayed this excitement to friends here, they were quick to point out that employers are still allowed to drug test for cannabis use and not hire, or fire, an employee for failing. This can be a worry for those who use marijuana, or even just CBD. Although, there is now information available on how to pass a hair follicle drug test. Most users of the cannabinoid CBD are using it for medicinal reasons to, therefore, improve their general and work life, but there is always the concern that CBD could class as a fail for marijuana drug tests. If you’re someone who regularly uses CBD, you’ll need more information from sites like Veritas Farms concerning drug tests; if you’re a user of cannabis itself, there’s no doubt you’ll fail the test. There are a variety of variables that go into companies testing for cannabis. Unfortunately, it isn’t a flawless system and seems unfair at times. However, when it comes to making sense of the law regarding drug testing and cannabis, it’s important that you take it into consideration. Fortunately, if you’re a marijuana user, you can find information online or through your local dispensary that can help you to understand more about cannabis testing, what tests look for, and how the law applies to you. You can click here to learn more.

I know there aren’t too many employers who still test for cannabis use though some that do employ tons of people. I understand that much of the testing has to do with federal involvement, though it would be wonderful if those who live in a legal state did not have to worry about being punished for consuming cannabis. As of right now if they wanted to continue consuming cannabis they’d have to look into resources such as How to Pass A Drug Test – Health Street or other articles relating to trying to beat their employers’ test. This is definitely a complex issue that deserves more attention at a later time.

Basically, gaining more freedoms to consume cannabis and grow cannabis would make Washington a legality front-runner. Of course, living in a legal state is amazing in its own right. Though, if improvements can be made, why not address them and create further positive change?

What freedoms would you like to see in the Seattle cannabis industry? Let us know in the comments; we would love to hear what you have to say!

2 Glaring Differences Between Washington & the Newest Legal Pot State: Alaska

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Alaska has just become the 3rd state in the country to officially legalize recreational marijuana. This begins the long and tedious process of creating the rules to regulate the industry. There are lots of countries that are taking action to make weed legal for medical purposes at least and hopefully for recreational use as well. For example, Germany has legalized medical use but now we just need them to legalize recreational use so more people can take advantage of this Wachstumsführer site. Closer to home, hopefully, more states take after Alaska.

This means the first recreational pot shop to grace the landscape of the great frontier will not be until next year. Until then, Alaskans won’t be able to purchase weed legally, but they do have a way to obtain it which leads us to the 2 glaring differences between Washington State & Alaska recreational marijuana laws.

1. You can grow marijuana plants in the privacy of your home in Alaska, not in Washington

Despite being the first state in the country to officially legalize marijuana, Washington has lagged behind Colorado and now Alaska, in allowing residents to grow marijuana in their own home. Under the current law, it is illegal for Washingtonians to grow their own marijuana, unless you received a license as a producer. In Alaska, you can now grow up to 6 plants in your home.

2. $100 fine if you are caught consuming marijuana in public? OUCH!

It is illegal in both states to smoke marijuana in public. But the main difference is in the fines. In Washington, if you are caught smoking in public, you are looking at a $27 fine – which is the same as consuming alcohol in public. Even so, public consumption of marijuana laws are very relaxed.

In Alaska, the law for public consumption of marijuana is strictly enforced with $100 fines.

 

3 Recreational Marijuana Questions For 2015

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Welcome back everyone for a brand new year: 2015! Its crazy to think that just over a year ago, Colorado opened it’s first recreational marijuana shops. And since then, Washington has followed with the beginnings of its’ legal retail industry, while Alaska, Oregon, and Washington D.C. has voted to join the party. Imagine what everything will be like another year from now? But before we do that, we still have a year to live so let’s do it! Let’s hope there is a pot shop on every street corner in 12 months time!

3 recreational marijuana questions for 2015:

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Will all recreational marijuana stores be open this year?

With marijuana legalization being different in every place you go, it can be hard to know what’s going on for dispensaries. At the moment, all the new and growing dispensaries are having to look into resources and tools like POSaBIT that can help them improve their customer service, all while having to worry about staying within legal guidelines and following legislation. So, the answer to this is a complicated one for both dispensaries and customers, depending on where you are.

If you asked us this question a couple of months ago, we would have thought: of course! But here we are, about 6 months since Cannabis City became the city’s first marijuana store to open its’ doors, and we only have eight legal retail shops that are open. Nine, if you include Ballard’s Herb’s House, a medical marijuana dispensary that just passed the recreational inspection last month and will be converting to a legal outlet soon. Even if physical stores aren’t quite open, you will still be able to purchase weed online from websites such as https://theherbcentre.net/buy-weed-online-vancouver/, which many people view as being much easier than purchasing in person.

It took six months for eights stores to open. At this rate, we should have all Seattle pot shops up and running by the end of the year, but that is barring any setbacks such as failed inspections, financing, or any other hurdles the cannabis retail outlets may face. In addition, the Washington State Liquor Control Board may hold a do-over in April to allow over 900 shops a chance at a retail license. This may increase the number of shops in the city and the chances that we see openings into 2016. It seems that marijuana is becoming increasingly more acceptable, people can easily buy things like tuna kush, so it makes sense for more pot shops to be opening.

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Will the tax issue be confronted that is setting the industry up for failure?

One major complaint of customers as they exit a recreational weed shop is the enormously high retail tax that they just paid. But tax issues isn’t just affecting the customers, it’s affecting everyone including the legal retail shops, the growers, and the producers. In fact, if this tax issue is not dealt with, it could have a crippling affect to our industry and even the prospects of national legalization. After all, we have chosen ourselves to set an example. This is what James Lathrop, owner of Cannabis City, wrote us last month:

In Washington marijuana products are taxed at a multiple compound rate: That is 25% from the grower to processor, plus 25% from the processor to the retailer, plus 25% from the retailer to the customer [each of these levels of tax pay tax on the previous tax], plus another 10% of regular sales tax, city tax, and B&O [which includes taxation of the excise tax itself]; then there is an additional Federal tax of another 25% [that is a fed 35% tax on the ~70% gross profit [gross after cost of goods] falling out at about 25% of gross – including Federal taxation on the State excise tax itself.).

So on the retailer side alone that is ~60% of the product in pure tax, with ~30% going to to cost of goods and ~1-5% left to actually run the business; the growers and processors are in a similar situation.

All cannabis businesses in Washington are set to fail under this unreasonable and compound tax structure; many will fail, some will survive; but none can exist under this tax structure for very long.
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What effect will the Oregon recreational marijuana industry have on ours?

Last November, Oregon voted to become the 3rd state to legalize marijuana. This makes Washington and its’ neighbor to the South, the first bordering states to legalize the plant, which brings up some questions:

1) Vancouver’s recreational marijuana shops have seen some phenomenal sales, especially New Vansterdam. After all, the town is conveniently located about 10 minutes from Portland. We are not sure if Portland will see its’ first store open this year but if it does, we wonder if it will have some effect on Vancouver recreational store sales? From what we here, there is a healthy number of Oregon residents crossing the border to visit the legal pot shops. In addition, will Portland see an increase of Vancouver residents crossing the border to purchase cannabis to save money because the tax burden is less?

2) When Oregon allows marijuana legalization to happen on the first of July, residents of the state will be able to grow their own plants within the confines of their home. Oregon and Alaska will be the 2nd and 3rd state to practice this along with Colorado. Are we going to continue being the stubborn mule or allow our neighbors to the South to plant the seed and help us reconsider?

Two industries, side by side, in the same region. What better way to observe to see what is working and what isn’t. We should take this opportunity and do just that. Work together to make the local marijuana industries a success.

What recreational marijuana questions do you have for 2015?

Rain in the Forecast, The Wild West Still Wild, and More!

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Two More Recreational Marijuana Shops to Open This Month in Seattle Area

It took some time for the legal marijuana retail shops to roll out. But once things get rolling, it just seems to keep going. Let’s hope this becomes a trend.

October saw the opening of two, Ocean Greens and Praxa, and now we can expect at least two more retail shops this month. We got rain in the forecast: Rain City Cannabis, located off of Rainier Avenue South, is already teasing us with what to expect when they open their doors:

Dockside Cannabis will be opening a recreational pot shop at the very Northern border of Seattle, in Shoreline. Keep your eyes peeled for these shops to open and we will keep you up to date with any other openings.

 

The Wild West is Still Wild

The East Coast has been around much longer than the Western states, but it’s these states that are getting it done. While Florida failed to pass medical marijuana legislation this week, and Washington D.C. became the first entity on the East coast to pass a semi-recreational marijuana bill, Oregon and Alaska boldly and with a statement, joined Colorado and Washington State. True to it’s roots, the Wild West carries a certain swagger, “taking the laws into their own hands.” And according to this article, Arizona, California, and Nevada may be up next.

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Thanks to Hillary Bricken and Alicia Holcomb

With the help from these two and their suggestions, we expanded our list of recreational marijuana laws/regulations that need to change now. Feel free to comment on this article and add any thoughts or suggestions you may have.

 

Our Pot-Related Election Predictions: Oregon Legalizes Marijuana, ‘Pot Territory’ is Formed, & More!

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Prediction #1: Oregon Legalizes Marijuana Creating the First ‘Pot Territory’ or ‘Region’

We predict that Oregon will pass Measure 91 on Tuesday, November 4, giving the nation its’ first ‘pot territory’ or ‘region.’ Which means, Washington and Oregon – two states of the great Northwest – would be the first recreational marijuana industries sharing the same border.

Oregon had a chance to make history along with us a couple of years ago and they flat out blew it. Let’s not sugar coat it. They blew it. But, instead of sitting back and sulking in their defeat, like a true prizefighter they got themselves together and are ready for the rematch. That’s a lot more than other states can say. Look at California, they are still trying to figure it out since their legalized marijuana defeat many years ago.

Washington State and Oregon State: Pot Territory

Prediction #2: Washington D.C. Will Legalize Marijuana…Yawn

We know, this one is barely a prediction as Washington D.C. has been looking to punch its’ ticket into legal cannabis land for several weeks now. In fact, polls indicate somewhat of a landslide victory for the district. If D.C. does legalize marijuana by a margin pre-polling numbers indicate, this could very well be the largest margin of victory to date for legalization of recreational marijuana. Keep in mind, while marijuana would be legal for adults and they would be allowed to grow their own plants, their would be no where to purchase it.

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Prediction #3: Alaska Legalizes Marijuana, Wait… Alaska Doesn’t Legalize Marijuana… Doh! It’s Too Close to Call!

Will Alaska’s Ballot Measure 2 be the one hiccup during this round of marijuana legalization initiatives? We think so. Pre-election polling results have this measure all over the place and to solve this confusion, we are going to predict that this measure will be too close to call when polls close Tuesday. And this hurts, because, a straight up legalization of marijuana in Alaska would be icing on the cake, especially if Oregon and Washington D.C. pass their initiatives. Let’s hope we are wrong.

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What are your election predictions for recreational marijuana? Do you see all 3 states and districts legalizing recreational marijuana?