Pubdate: Mon, 07 Jul 2014
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2014 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Evan Bush
Page: A1

DETAILS FILL FINAL DAY BEFORE RETAIL POT ERA STARTS

Race Against Time After State Licenses Issued

Marijuana Processors in Rush to Deliver to Stores

With the state set to license a handful of recreational-marijuana 
stores Monday, retailers have been hustling to set up shop while 
growers and processors are racing to package pot so it's ready to 
deliver Tuesday, when the first stores are expected to open.

Aaron Nelson, the general manager of 2020 Solutions in Bellingham, 
said his store has already passed inspection by the state Liquor 
Control Board and hopes to open its doors Tuesday at 8 a.m., the 
earliest hour allowed under state law.

Nelson expects to have enough marijuana for at least 1,000 people 
Tuesday, but said 2020 Solutions might limit how much customers can 
buy, depending on demand. He expects his customers to pay $20 to $25 per gram.

2020 also will sell pre-rolled joints, locally blown glass pipes and 
other consumption paraphernalia.

But first, the marijuana has to get into the stores.

The Liquor Control Board holds the keys to the launch button. At 1:20 
Monday morning, the agency is expected to email the first wave of 
newly licensed retailers and enter them into its computer system, 
which traces pot from seedling to a consumer's hands. Then, retailers 
can buy marijuana from processors.

On Monday morning, Lynsee Michels, the Director of Nine Point Growth 
Industries, a grower and processor in Bremerton, will be waiting for 
phone calls from several retailers that her company has agreed to 
sell to once they're officially licensed - including the only Seattle 
shop, Cannabis City on Fourth Avenue South in Sodo.

"Everything's been done - dried, trimmed and cured," she said. "We're 
just waiting for those retail stores to be ready to buy."

One problem: The pot supply is expected to be extremely limited at 
first. Many growers haven't yet harvested.

Hoping to have enough individual packages to serve every customer a 
first puff of store-bought legal weed Tuesday, many store owners are 
asking processors to portion marijuana into much smaller packages 
than the 1 ounce customers can legally buy.

Michels said that means taking 30 pounds of pot and portioning it 
into more than 6,000 individual packages with their own labels 
identifying the marijuana's weight, brand name and concentration of 
key chemicals.

"All of our stores are asking for 2-gram packages," said Michels. 
"That's a lot of packages. A lot of stickers."

Getting those packages to retailers by Tuesday morning won't be easy, either.

The state mandates that marijuana be quarantined for 24 hours between 
the time it's sold and transported to retailers.

That means pot retailers like 2020's Nelson are counting on getting 
their state licenses in the wee hours of the morning Monday, ordering 
pot shortly thereafter then having it transported and delivered to 
Bellingham before 8 a.m. Tuesday.

The state mandates that processors, or employees of a certified lab 
that tested the product, deliver the pot themselves, on a direct 
route with no unnecessary stops. It must be locked in a box that's 
secured to the vehicle.

"To put these working parts together for the first time, we hope 
everyone understands there will be hurdles, frustration and delays, 
because it's all new," said Michels.

"We will open when we have product to sell," Nelson said when asked 
about the time crunch. "We are running as if we are opening on 8 a.m."

For some processors, that time frame could be tricky. "My fear is [my 
customers] will all call me at the same time," said Michels. "And 
there's only one of me."

Although there are supply chain concerns, retailers expect 
enthusiastic customers.

In Tacoma, Don Muridan said the store he owns, Rainier on Pine, has 
passed Liquor Control Board inspection and will open at 10 a.m. 
Tuesday after a "green ribbon cutting" ceremony.

He expects 400 to 500 people at his shop, which is a converted 
medical-marijuana dispensary that now has an "Apple retail feel."

Muridan says the shop has hired Tacoma police officers to help with 
crowd control and will have barricades for the parking lot. "We're 
worried about traffic more than anything," he said.

Muridan, who said he'll have 60 pounds of pot to sell for the week, 
will only keep the store open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"When there's more supply to hit the marketplace," Muridan said, 
"we'll be going to 11 or midnight."

Tim Thompson, an owner of the Altitude store in Prosser, Benton 
County, expects to open at 8 a.m. Tuesday with about 15 pounds in 
stock. He plans to cut off sales Tuesday at 300 customers, allowing 
them to purchase a maximum 7 grams each. Customers will pay $25 to 
$30 per gram after taxes, he said.

Besides a crowd of customers, Thompson anticipates a handful of 
protesters who have held picket signs outside his chiropractic 
business in Prosser denouncing marijuana.

"I don't see it any differently than wine," he said of the 
recreational pot he'll sell from his shop on Merlot Drive, not far 
from successful wineries.

In Seattle, the state announced 21 winners in a lottery for retail 
stores in May, but only one - Cannabis City in Sodo - is poised to 
open Tuesday. Owners of other lottery-winning shops in Seattle said 
they weren't quite ready because of business obstacles, such as 
securing financing or a lease, or because they were waiting to see 
how the competitive landscape looks.

Mehran Rafizadeh, owner of Trichome & Calyx, who drew Seattle's top 
lottery number, said he is seeking clarification from state 
regulators about the legality of his location because a day-care 
center moved nearby after he applied for a license.

Sam Burke, another Seattle winner, said he hit a snag with the 
landlord at his initial location, moved on to another site only to 
learn it was too near a community center. Burke said he has found a 
third location he believes will work well.

Some retailers have decided not to race the clock or court pageantry. 
Brian Budz (yes, that's his given name) said his store, New 
Vansterdam in Vancouver, Wash., has passed inspection and he expects 
to receive a license Monday. But he doesn't plan to open until Friday.

"We've been nonexistent to our families for about a month now," he 
said. "We want to be able to have a soft opening the night before ... 
so we can take care of our friends and families."

Budz said he thinks his pot will sell for $12 to $18 per gram before 
sales and excise taxes. As his business starts up, he plans to ration 
pot and sell it in 1-gram packets, but thinks his inventory will 
level off in a couple weeks as more growers harvest.

"The one thing we don't want is to have to close the doors, send the 
staff home and turn people away," said Budz.

"We're preparing for it to be kind of crazy, but we're not going to 
make it crazy," he said. "We want people to come, but some of the 
Colorado pictures [of retail store openings earlier this year] were a 
little daunting."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom