Pubdate: Thu, 07 Aug 2014
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2014 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Andy Mannix
Page: B2

POT EDIBLES TO DEBUT AT A FEW STATE STORES

First Shipments

Trail Mix, Nut Clusters; State Has Strict Rules on Kinds, Access

Washington's first retail pot edibles are available for purchase.

Top Shelf Cannabis in Bellingham, among the state's first shops to 
open, was planning to start selling three different kinds of edibles 
late Wednesday, said shop investor John Evich.

"The public wants their edibles," he said. "It seems like every third 
person is hounding us, 'Where are the edibles?' "

Products available will include trail mix, Chex Mix and a carnival 
nut, which Evich described as a nut cluster with a dash of pepper, 
rolled in caramel and powdered sugar.

"They're not as boring as they sound," he said.

Prices were still being worked out Wednesday afternoon.

Customers can expect to see more edibles on the market in the near 
future, said Stesha Ries, director of operations for Green Chief, the 
company delivering to Top Shelf.

Ries' business got licensed less than two weeks ago. After the 500 
bags the company shipped to Bellingham, Green Chief will make 
shipments Saturday to Top Shelf and to Altitude in Prosser, Benton 
County, she said.

"We're going to have a consistent product for our consumers," Ries 
said. "We're going to have a safe product - it's been tested. And 
it's a great product."

Potency will range from 15 to 20 milligrams of THC, the psychoactive 
ingredient, per serving for now, said Ries.

The state Liquor Control Board released regulations last month 
restricting how edibles can be made, which include: no products 
designed to appeal to children, no products that require temperature 
control to keep safe for human consumption and no dairy products.

Ries said her company will also offer childproof bags to retailers to 
keep the products safely from kids.

Top Shelf also was to start selling marijuana vapor pens at the same 
time Wednesday night, another product that soon will become available 
at pot shops across Washington.

After delivering to Bellingham, Rif - the company that produces the 
vapor pens - was to take more shipments Wednesday night to Cannabis 
City in Seattle; 420 Carpenter in Lacey, Thurston County; New 
Vamsterdam in Vancouver; and Happy Crop Shoppe in Wenatchee.

Carl Schmeisser, vice president of business for Rif, said theirs is 
the only product on the market designed for smoking pure cannabis 
oil, as opposed to additives like glycol.

"It's a whole new way to smoke cannabis," he said. "It's a more 
consistent smoke, it's a more consistent high."

Prices will vary by retailer, but customers can expect to pay about 
$30 for the battery and $75-$ 80 for the 250-milligram cartridge, 
said Schmeisser.

In regard to other product, Evich said Top Shelf is expecting 50 
pounds of pot in the next week and a half, meaning it should be flush 
for a while.

Meanwhile, Seattle's sole pot shop, Cannabis City, only expects 1 
pound of pot coming Friday, said owner James Lathrop.

He said the shop has started flying a Washington state flag on the 
front of the store to let customers know it has product.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom