SEATTLE (AP) – With the clock ticking down to the start of legal weed sales in Washington state, store owners hoping to start selling on Tuesday are consumed by details as they try to make sure there’s pot on the shelves.
At Cannabis City, the only recreational marijuana shop that’s ready to open in Seattle, owner James Lathrop has hired an events company to provide crowd control, arranged for a food truck and free water for those who might spend hours waiting outside, and rented a portable toilet.
He can only hope his initial 10-pound supply is enough to stone the multitude, and says he may limit purchases to ensure everyone can go home with at least a 2-gram package of history.
A hundred miles to the north, John Evich is trying to figure out how to get the marijuana to his store in Bellingham quickly once it’s approved for a license, which should happen Monday. He’s considered everything from loading the pot onto his commercial crab boat and rushing it across Puget Sound to renting a helicopter.
One year and eight months after voters in Washington and Colorado stunned much of the world by legalizing marijuana, the sale of heavily regulated and taxed cannabis begins here this week, with the first few stores opening amid talk of high prices, shortages and rationing. Sales began in Colorado at the start of the year.