leaffan
Well-Known Member
Here's an interesting article...
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/26/washington-marijuana-legal-scarce/16266573/
EATTLE – A little more than two months after Washington launched recreational marijuana sales, you'd be hard pressed to stumble upon any pot shops in the state's biggest city: Until this weekend, only one marijuana store was open in Seattle, and getting there required a trek through industrial developments far from downtown.
And when you reach the store, you might not find any pot on the shelves.
"We're not doing well because we don't have anything to sell," said James Lathrop, owner of Cannabis City in Seattle. "It's really an insane business."
Washington's tough approach to regulating marijuana growers and retailers means only 60 marijuana-store licenses have been granted, and it's unclear exactly how many of them have actually opened for business. Some marijuana store owners say the regulations and scarce supply of legal weed are making it hard to shepherd the industry away from the black market and toward paying taxes.
USATODAY
Legal pot, murky jobs: Marijuana laws put workers in tough spot
Lathrop flies a flag outside his store to signal whether he has any of the coveted "bud" or marijuana flowers for sale. Last week, he was selling only pre-rolled joints and packages of "shake," which generally contains less of the intoxicating THC than the flowers. For sophisticated consumers, neither is an attractive option, especially at $45 for a 2-gram joint. In comparison, Colorado retail stores are selling high-quality marijuana flowers for as little as $10 a gram.
He also has no pot-infused foods, known as edibles, available. Edibles are popular with novice users and tourists staying in smoking-free hotel rooms. In Colorado, some stores report that 40% of their sales are coming in the form of pot-infused cookies, chocolates and sodas.
Like Colorado, Washington this year began allowing consumers to legally buy marijuana for fun. But the struggles in keeping shelves stocked highlight significant differences between the two states' approaches. Inside Cannabis City, Denver resident Kyle Johnson said this week he was surprised to see how little supply was available at the city's only store.
"I think Denver is a couple years ahead on the scene," he said. "You come in and they only have the one type. And the prices ... the price is a huge thing."
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But he said Washington is poised to tighten that system, which will ultimately push people into buying taxed-and-regulated recreational pot. In Colorado, the medical system is more closely regulated but still set up so that state residents can easily get a "red card" recommendation from their doctor and buy high-quality marijuana that's taxed at far lower levels.
A Colorado-commissioned study indicated that large amounts of medical marijuana are being diverted by buyers who acquire it cheaply using their red card, and then re-sell it on the black market, or just grow it themselves for illegal resale. Holmes said it's unclear Colorado will even be able to close that "gaping loophole."
"I had a store owner in Colorado tell me that only chumps and tourists go to the recreational side," Holmes said. "That's completely upsetting the Colorado market. I hope that Washington avoids all that. We have a better opportunity for a tighter system that meets the federal guidelines."
The label of this packet of marijuana offered for sale in Washington shows the different components of the product, including how much THC it contains.(Photo: Trevor Hughes/USA TODAY)
Back in Bellingham, Evich said he's not surprised Washington's marijuana industry has growing pains. Like Lathrop, he said he expects supply problems to ease by next year, especially as the first outdoor crops reach the market. He said state regulators have been tough but fair, and seem more interested in helping the new businesses comply with the regulations than in hitting them with fines. He said the industry, for its part, has taken great care to follow the new rules.
"The public image is changing, and fast," he said. "We're not trying to get rich on dollars. We're trying to get rich on clientele and trust."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/26/washington-marijuana-legal-scarce/16266573/
EATTLE – A little more than two months after Washington launched recreational marijuana sales, you'd be hard pressed to stumble upon any pot shops in the state's biggest city: Until this weekend, only one marijuana store was open in Seattle, and getting there required a trek through industrial developments far from downtown.
And when you reach the store, you might not find any pot on the shelves.
"We're not doing well because we don't have anything to sell," said James Lathrop, owner of Cannabis City in Seattle. "It's really an insane business."
Washington's tough approach to regulating marijuana growers and retailers means only 60 marijuana-store licenses have been granted, and it's unclear exactly how many of them have actually opened for business. Some marijuana store owners say the regulations and scarce supply of legal weed are making it hard to shepherd the industry away from the black market and toward paying taxes.
USATODAY
Legal pot, murky jobs: Marijuana laws put workers in tough spot
Lathrop flies a flag outside his store to signal whether he has any of the coveted "bud" or marijuana flowers for sale. Last week, he was selling only pre-rolled joints and packages of "shake," which generally contains less of the intoxicating THC than the flowers. For sophisticated consumers, neither is an attractive option, especially at $45 for a 2-gram joint. In comparison, Colorado retail stores are selling high-quality marijuana flowers for as little as $10 a gram.
He also has no pot-infused foods, known as edibles, available. Edibles are popular with novice users and tourists staying in smoking-free hotel rooms. In Colorado, some stores report that 40% of their sales are coming in the form of pot-infused cookies, chocolates and sodas.
Like Colorado, Washington this year began allowing consumers to legally buy marijuana for fun. But the struggles in keeping shelves stocked highlight significant differences between the two states' approaches. Inside Cannabis City, Denver resident Kyle Johnson said this week he was surprised to see how little supply was available at the city's only store.
"I think Denver is a couple years ahead on the scene," he said. "You come in and they only have the one type. And the prices ... the price is a huge thing."
USATODAY
Marijuana farmers markets budding trend on West Coast
But he said Washington is poised to tighten that system, which will ultimately push people into buying taxed-and-regulated recreational pot. In Colorado, the medical system is more closely regulated but still set up so that state residents can easily get a "red card" recommendation from their doctor and buy high-quality marijuana that's taxed at far lower levels.
A Colorado-commissioned study indicated that large amounts of medical marijuana are being diverted by buyers who acquire it cheaply using their red card, and then re-sell it on the black market, or just grow it themselves for illegal resale. Holmes said it's unclear Colorado will even be able to close that "gaping loophole."
"I had a store owner in Colorado tell me that only chumps and tourists go to the recreational side," Holmes said. "That's completely upsetting the Colorado market. I hope that Washington avoids all that. We have a better opportunity for a tighter system that meets the federal guidelines."
The label of this packet of marijuana offered for sale in Washington shows the different components of the product, including how much THC it contains.(Photo: Trevor Hughes/USA TODAY)
Back in Bellingham, Evich said he's not surprised Washington's marijuana industry has growing pains. Like Lathrop, he said he expects supply problems to ease by next year, especially as the first outdoor crops reach the market. He said state regulators have been tough but fair, and seem more interested in helping the new businesses comply with the regulations than in hitting them with fines. He said the industry, for its part, has taken great care to follow the new rules.
"The public image is changing, and fast," he said. "We're not trying to get rich on dollars. We're trying to get rich on clientele and trust."
