Pot Licenses To Cost $1,000 Under Draft Washington State Rules

[Truth Seeker]

After months of study, the Washington state agency charged with overseeing the first-of-its-kind recreational cannabis market released its draft rules for the industry on Thursday.

Under the proposed guidelines issued by the Washington State Liquor Control Board, licenses to grow, process and sell the marijuana would each cost $1,000 per year - in addition to a $250 application fee - with growers and processors barred from doubling as retailers.

The draft rules do not specify the number of retail licenses to be made available, but stipulate that they be issued on a county-by-county basis. For counties with more qualified applicants than licenses, a lottery will be held.

By contrast, no limits are expected to be set on the number of grower and processor licenses, nor on the size of those operations but the draft rules specify that pot must be grown indoors and tested for contaminants and potency.

The proposed rules "create a very tightly controlled and regulated market but at the same time allow for reasonable access for small and large businesses to participate," said Mikhail Carpenter, a spokesman for the Liquor Control Board.

"We've been working on this for eight months and we're still working on it, but it's the first time that people get to see what it's going to look like," he said.

'BLUEBERRY HAZE'

Voters in Washington state and Colorado passed ballot initiatives to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in November. A bill enabling Colorado to set up such a market is still awaiting signature by that state's governor.

The drug is still illegal under federal law, and the Obama administration has yet to say whether it intends to sue to block the states from implementing their recreational-use markets.

The proposed rules are open to public comment, after which a second draft will be released in June. They are expected to be finalized in July, with applicants having a one-month window to apply for licenses beginning in September. The board plans to issue its first cannabis licenses in December, with the retail stores set to open sometime in 2014.

Under the ballot initiative, growers, processors and retailers will each pay a 25 percent excise tax, in addition to the state and local sales taxes paid by consumers.

Under the draft rules, licenses will be available to people with criminal records, but a felony conviction within the past decade, or two misdemeanors within the past three years, would disqualify most prospective applicants.

Exceptions are provided for misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions - addressing a concern raised by many who have expressed interest in entering the market, Carpenter said. The draft rules also specify that applicants must have been living in Washington state for at least three months.

Marijuana businesses will not be allowed to operate within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks, transit centers, playgrounds and day care centers.

Also included are guidelines for how the drug will be labeled. The proposed labels include the name of the drug, such as "Blueberry Haze," its potency and a warning that it "may be habit forming."

Left unaddressed is the state's largely unregulated and lightly-taxed medical marijuana industry, the exact size of which is not known. Seattle estimates that it is home to over 150 dispensaries.

The state's Department of Revenue reports collecting $1.2 million in fiscal year 2012 taxes from 52 likely medical marijuana businesses, but spokesman Mike Gowrylow said that, because the industry exists in a legal gray area, some medical cannabis providers aren't paying taxes on advice from lawyers.

State lawmakers are weighing legislation asking the Liquor Control Board and two other agencies to study and make recommendations on how to regulate medical marijuana similarly to the recreational industry.

News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: trust.org
Author: Reuters
Contact: Thomson Reuters Foundation | News, Information and Connections for Action
Website: Pot licenses to cost $1,000 under draft Washington state rules

 

[DrOfDank]

That's pretty damned reasonable. I was expecting it to be over $100k due to corporate manipulation to keep the 'little guy' out.

 

[Shadar]

The idea is to keep the entrance criteria low enough to allow wide participation in Cannabis businesses, but still have a framework to both tax and control the flow of product, from plant to point of sale. A lot of the citizen feedback provided to the Liquor Board folks was focused on keeping the big guys out.

I like this approach, which follows in the path of craft wineries that WA state liquor stores encouraged in the past. I personally think the most interesting weed will likely come from craft growers, just as some of the most interesting wine comes from craft wineries (not to mention beer from craft brewers), so this is a very welcome set of rules that actually approximates the best of the alcohol regulation model in some ways.

That's what many of us voted for on I-502.

 

[4/20/08]

I geuss I have one main question

what is a Proseser? what does he do? I dont think they will take wet plants from the grower and dry it cause how would he buy and sell it

there is no way to tell how moistuer in in the plant and how much weight you are gonna lose in drying

I think they just wanna put a nother step to tax but its not there

growers are the ones that prosses there own weed

 

[Shadar]

I understand that the role of licensed Processors is a bit fluid, but the state wanted to provide for an intermediary between the grower and the retailer. They could be Distributors (selling product from one grower to multiple retailers) or firms making concentrates that go into edibles, along with edibles themselves. I'm sure other roles will emerge once the power of the free market takes root and people come up with creative ideas for Processor firms.

I don't believe anything in rules says a grower can't sell directly to a retailer if the grower wants to prepare his buds for market (as is the norm for growers today). But I suppose someone could buy green plants from a grower and do the manicuring, drying and curing. It remains to be seen how that is handled payment-wise (and tax-wise), assuming someone wants to do that.

The key is that the powers-that-be in Seattle are trying to unleash the genius of small business enterprise to work in Washington, and history from other enterprises says that people will come up with creative ideas if the rules give them the freedom to work.

I'm hypothesizing at this point that Washington and Colorado may differ, in that Colorado is likely to be more disposed to large firms given they already have an appreciable MMJ industrial base. Washington MMJ consists of small-scale growers, co-ops, etc.

Since I'm a fan of the "craft" approach to beer and wine, and some of the best weed growers today are small-scale operations run by people who really love the weed, I'm hoping that "craft cannabis" or "craft weed" will be terms that characterize the legal pot industry in Washington state.

As long as the Feds don't stomp in and mess it up. So far, so good, but it'll get interesting when the licenses are granted and people start working on legal grows and the first product flows through the system to the stores. That'll be the moment of truth re: the Feds.

In Washington, you won't be able to start growing until December 1, 2013 (you can apply for licenses in October), so we're talking February to March 2014 before the stores have inventory of some fast flowering stuff. Obviously fast finishing Indicas will come to market before Sativas, so selection might be skimpy until late March or April for Sativa-lovers like me.

Exciting times...

 

[4/20/08]

exlent post shadar. you should post more. you anwsered my question well

your name seems familler have I read your stuff somewhere before

and yes verry exciting time to be alive I will be paying attenion

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