More than 3,000 apply for Washington pot licenses

[yortbogey]

SEATTLE — More than 3,700 marijuana business applications have been filed in Washington state.

Washington’s Liquor Control Board released updated figures Tuesday, saying it had received 3,746 applications to grow, process or sell cannabis under Washington’s recreational pot law passed by voters last year.

The applications include 867 proposed retail outlets. The state is planning to cap the number of pot shops at 334 statewide, so some areas are expected to face a lottery for retail licenses.

The application window closed last week, but board spokesman Mikhail Carpenter says there is still a backlog of submissions that haven’t been processed yet. He says investigators have already started reviewing applicants, and the state hopes to begin issuing licenses at the end of February.

 

[Hank Hemp]

I hope the Fed's mind their own business. Still have a bad feeling about all this. I fear a right wing teabagger may get into power in 2016. My state will never be free. Hell most counties are dry. WA and CO potheads are so lucky.

 

[Commonwealth]

So basically if you missed the entry you're SOL growing as a personal grower yes? I was excited about legalization but the restrictions are starting to feel designed for those lucky enough to get a retail license.

 

[wintergreens]

Big list for the DEA to bust! Sounds like 3 plant personal grows will be ok if you are a state legal med patient.

 

[Commonwealth]

The DEA doesn't have the resources or public support to prosecute that sort of war on Washington. They're too concerned with cartels and growing on federal land these days. I loathe all the activities of the DEA but there's too much fearmongering based on empty speculation. Let's wait and see if Holder and the feds hold their word regarding CO and WA.

 

[yortbogey]

 

[Hank Hemp]

That's deep yortbogey.

 

[Jhhnn]

The DEA doesn't have the resources or public support to prosecute that sort of war on Washington. They're too concerned with cartels and growing on federal land these days. I loathe all the activities of the DEA but there's too much fearmongering based on empty speculation. Let's wait and see if Holder and the feds hold their word regarding CO and WA.

Agreed. WA is considerably more restrictive than CO, particularly wrt personal growing. In WA, State authorities are still tasked with shutting down personal grows, something not possible in CO. Even if the feds shut down retail, they simply lack the resources to meaningfully stop personal growing occurring on a massive scale. That's really why Colorado Cannabis is here to stay.

 

[Commonwealth]

We are right to get pissed at the dea busting CA dispensaries, but they lack the sort of regulation WA and CO started with. That's part of the reason CA is a target - the state has no dog in the fight. The other is CA's medical system *is* a joke to cover recreational use for the most part. We should be willing to admit it. Recreational should be entirely legal, but CA has undermined some of the legitimacy of medicinal cannabis by using it as a cover for recreational use.