Pubdate: Tue, 01 Jul 2014
Source: Republican & Herald (PA)
Copyright: 2014 Associated Press
Contact:  http://republicanherald.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1047
Page: 4

LAUNCHING LEGAL POT FACES DIFFICULT ROAD

SEATTLE (AP) - As Washington plows toward the legalization of pot, 
it's finding that getting the cannabis market off the ground has been 
even tougher than anyone imagined.

Among the frustrated are growers who have been waiting months for 
permission to start raising their bar-coded plants; advocates who 
wish more public health messaging had been done by now; and would-be 
pot vendors like O'Neil who said bad luck, minor oversights on their 
applications, or errors by state officials have torpedoed otherwise 
promising efforts.

Washington's Liquor Control Board expects to issue the first 15 to 20 
marijuana retail licenses July 7, months later than first expected, 
but it's not clear how many of those shops are ready to open. Board 
staff said last week only one shop in Seattle is prepared for its 
final inspection.

Randy Simmons, the board's legal pot project manager, predicts a 
"bumpy road," with an initial shortage of stores and marijuana alike. 
Many businesses that got lucky in the pot-shop lottery in April have 
since been disqualified, such as by being too close to schools or 
playgrounds. Others haven't finished building or made deals to buy 
pot from licensed growers.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom