Pubdate: Wed, 20 Mar 2013
Source: Stranger, The (Seattle, WA)
Copyright: 2013 The Stranger
Contact:  http://www.thestranger.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2241
Author: Ben Livingston

POT ENTREPRENEURS RUSH TO WASHINGTON STATE

Don't Call Them "Okies," Call Them "Tokies"

Some cannabis believers are so devout that they're packing for a
pilgrimage to one of two new legal-pot meccas: Colorado and Washington
States. Similar to (though better-heeled than) the dust-bowl
desperates of the 1930s, these legal-pot Okies-marijuana Tokies-long
to eke out new lives in the land of legal cannabis, the land of their
dreams.

Nazareth Victoria, 48, runs three assisted-living homes in the
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, suburbs with his wife. In 1999, he was
arrested after nearly 20 years in the pot trade, and he spent two and
a half years in the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex. At that
point, he says, "I vowed to my wife and family that I wouldn't do
anything illegal."

But now that marijuana is legal in Washington, Victoria is planning to
move here.

Washington's rule-making body plans to accept applications for
cannabis-producer licenses in June, with processor and retailer
applications coming in September. By the year's end, the recreational
ganja game will be in full play.

Six months before Election Day, with news of legalization initiatives
in three states, Victoria started planning his move and, having family
in Washington, the Evergreen State seemed a natural choice. "I thought
they'd be the first to implement," he says, adding, "I think
Washington's gonna be the leader."

Others are similarly passionate. "Folks are looking to Washington and
Colorado as this laboratory, this brave new frontier," says San
Francisco business attorney Khurshid Khoja. Khoja is one of about 40
accredited investors who make up the ArcView Group, which meets
quarterly to consider pot-related business pitches. "You're gonna see
a lot of interest, not only from Californians, but other folks across
the country."

Victoria hopes to secure a processor license and act as middleman
between small producers and retailers-helping pot growers package,
track, and guarantee outlets for their product. He worries that a pot
conviction may disqualify him from a license, and is buoyed by
comments at the state's Initiative 502 hearings demanding such
convictions not be a factor in legal-pot licensing. "Once it becomes
legal, I believe I have a lot to contribute. I feel very excited at
the opportunity to be able to finally market a product that I truly
believe in."
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