Pubdate: Mon, 28 Jul 2014
Source: Columbian, The (WA)
Copyright: 2014 The Columbian Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.columbian.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/92
Author: Sue Vorenberg

VANCOUVER'S MAIN STREET MARIJUANA POT STORE REOPENS

Quality of Product Is Improving; Prices Still High

Prices haven't dropped much since Main Street Marijuana shut its 
doors last week in protest of price gouging, but at least the quality 
is improving, said Ramsey Hamide, a manager.

The store, 2314 Main St., closed last Wednesday after getting an 
overpriced shipment of product with lots of stems and leaves, rather 
than the desired plant buds, from a grower that had promised high 
quality material.

After reopening on Monday, Hamide admitted the prices are still a bit 
excessive, but the shipments he got over the weekend from Monkey 
Grass Farms and Farmer J's are at least far better quality, he said.

"We're not going to go below a certain level on quality unless we can 
have a really good price point option," Hamide said. "And we have 
some new contracts pending at lower prices that will allow us to get 
our per-gram price down by several dollars in a few weeks."

Right now, prices are hovering between about $17 a gram for 
pre-rolled joints and $25 a gram for buds at the store.

Ideally, those prices would be about half of that, but with the 
statewide shortage it's still going to take time for things to settle 
down, Hamide said.

So far, only about 100 growers have been licensed in the state out of 
about 2,500 applicants. Of those, only a few have plants that are 
mature enough to harvest, which is why there's a significant supply 
shortage across the state.

"Around Aug. 10 we're expecting a big shipment that's several dollars 
cheaper, and hopefully that will bring all our prices down," Hamide said.

And even with the high prices, business has been brisk at both Main 
Street Marijuana and New Vansterdam, 6515 E. Mill Plain Blvd., which 
had to close early on Friday after running out of product that store 
managers expected to last through the weekend.

Many customers, who once again lined around the block for Main 
Street's 11 a.m. opening Monday, said they understand the pricing 
issues and are willing to be patient.

"The prices are a little high, but I respect what the owners are 
doing with the growers and holding them accountable," said Jeff, a 
Vancouver resident who asked that his last name not be used. "The tax 
revenue, I'm in favor of that, but the growers have to bring these 
prices down."

Like many people who have visited the store since it opened on July 
9, Jeff said he still fears the stigma of the legal drug and what his 
employers or neighbors might say if they knew he bought it. That's 
why he declined to give his last name, he said.

But that said, he added that he's really impressed with the stores 
and he's happy to see marijuana come out of the shadows.

"The quality, the inspection of the product, I really like that," 
Jeff said. "People have different reasons for consuming it. My wife 
has a hard time sleeping and it helps her. A lot of people I see in 
here are older, Baby Boomer types, like me. They want to use it to 
help with medical things, not just to get wasted."

The labels, which tell consumers the percentage of active components 
- -- like THC, which creates the euphoric high sensation or CBD, which 
some use for pain relief -- as well as the harvest date, are also a 
big draw, he said.

"You know what you're getting," Jeff said. "Consumers today, we're 
label readers. We love having that."

Max Flint, who was is visiting Oregon from New York with a friend, 
decided to come over to Vancouver to pick up some marijuana as a 
novelty Monday morning.

"We were trying to figure out if the store would be open and it was," 
Flint said.

He bought a 3-gram bag of three Farmer J's Sour Kush pre-rolled joints for $50.

"I thought it was a halfway decent deal," Flint said of the price. 
"It's a little more expensive than I would have hoped, but it's legal 
and I don't have to worry about the cops."

Another customer, Mark, who like Jeff didn't want his last name used 
for fear of stigma, said he also thought the prices were high. But 
that didn't deter the Portland resident from picking up some product on Monday.

"I'm personally happy that it's legal," Mark said. "I won't go to my 
local (underground) dealer. I'm a member of legitimate society and I 
don't mind paying a higher dollar if it means I'm not risking my life 
or career and I'm buying a legal product."

He said he also wants to make a statement about the biased 
enforcement of drug laws that have led to far more arrests of 
minorities than it has of white people.

"Part of the reason I'm willing to buy into this is the broad society 
issue of who ends up getting punished," Mark said. "People who aren't 
white like I am are more at risk. I think this is a first step in 
legitimizing something that should have been legitimate long ago."

Krae Williams, who has a medical card but went to the shop Monday to 
take a look, bought some product but said he might not bother with 
recreational stores again until the prices go down. He said those 
prices are far more than what he can get at a medical dispensary.

For most consumers though, the draw of having a product that's legal, 
regulated, tested and labeled outweighs the temporary high prices.

"I think it's worth it because you know what you're getting," said 
Tanja, a Portland resident who also didn't want her last name used. 
Tanja visited the store for the first time on Monday.

"It smells great in here," she said, noting the strong marijuana 
plant odor inside. "I know the prices are high but I'll probably come 
back again. I think the quality's going to keep getting better, and 
just doing things the legal way? It's worth it."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom