Washington retailers open their doors to the public
Washington retailers open their doors to the publicEditor’s Note:
Day 1 of legal cannabis sales. The atmosphere reminded me of scenes I’ve only seen in the news, where dedicated fans camped overnight or started lining up at the crack of dawn for their chance at playoff tickets or big movie premiers. But in this instance, in the summer of 2014, they were lining up to buy legal weed for the first time in their lives.
I started my day in Bellingham, Washington, for one of the shops opening right at the earliest moment and vying for the “state’s first sale” title. I then drove the 100 miles south back to Seattle for Cannabis City’s opening day festivities. Cannabis City was the only Seattle shop opening on Day 1, so they capitalized on the hype with a mid-day opening and saw a line snaking down Fourth Avenue and a media list a mile long, all waiting for their moment to get in the door of the tiny shop. We commemorated the event with a picture of Seattle Hempfest founder Vivian McPeak on the cover of the August 2014 issue of Marijuana Venture, stepping into the sunshine after his first legal purchase.
Although I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working in the cannabis space for more than a decade, the enthusiasm and sheer joy never again matched that July day.
And Cannabis City, once lionized as Seattle’s first rec shop, then relocated to a larger location on a Sodo district side street, now sits abandoned as a monument to just how challenging the adult-use cannabis industry actually is.
This story is from the August 2014 issue of Marijuana Venture.
July 8, 2014, was a day that consumers and business owners alike had been anticipating ever since Initiative 502 was approved by Washington State voters in 2012.
It brought I-502 to fruition and marked Washington’s first day of fully legalized marijuana sales. It was a whirlwind process that included 24 businesses receiving their licenses from the Washington State Liquor Control Board at approximately 1:40 a.m. July 7 — just 30 hours before they were given the go-ahead to open for business.
Most, either by design or due to some delay in the process, did not open their doors at the earliest moment possible, resulting in a staggered series of grand opening celebrations over the course of the next two weeks.
For the four stores that did make the opening day launch, July 8 was a madhouse of shoppers, supporters, protesters and media.
“It was a pretty intense day overall,” said Ken Delp, co-owner of Altitude, which opened in Prosser just after 8 a.m. July 8.
Delp said the 30-hour window between Altitude receiving its business license and opening day was a frenetic, busy stretch for the owners, employees and vendors. Altitude contacted producer/processor Monkey Grass Farms about product early in the morning July 8.
“They ended up leaving Wenatchee around 4:35 a.m. that morning and getting there about a half hour before 8 a.m.,” Delp said. “At that point, we had to do all the counting and making sure everything was good to go there. It was a lack of sleep, but it was definitely worth it.”
The other stores that opened at the earliest possible moment were Top Shelf Cannabis in Bellingham and Spokane Green Leaf.
Cannabis City took advantage of being the only retail location licensed in Seattle with a noon opening and a throng of enthusiasts that crowded the front entrance and blocked off part of Fourth Avenue, as well as a line that looped all the way around the building.
Over the course of the next two weeks, more stores enjoyed strong opening day sales, including The Happy Crop Shoppe in East Wenatchee, 2020 Solutions in Bellingham, New Vansterdam and Main Street Marijuana in Vancouver, Cascade Kropz in Arlington, 420 Carpenter in Lacey and 4US Retail in Okanogan.
The opening stretch of legal marijuana sales in Washington resulted in a strong haul for the state. The excise taxes due from the first three days of cannabis sales totaled nearly $150,000 — not including state and local sales taxes.