Bill to Allow Unlimited Number of Marijuana Retail Outlets Filed in Washington

Bill to Allow Unlimited Number of Marijuana Retail Outlets Filed in Washington

Currently the number of marijuana retail outlets in Washington is limited to what the state’s Liquor and Cannabis Board feels is best. A newly filed bill in the House of Representatives would change this, allowing an unlimited number of outlets.

This move is one that cannabis advocates have called on for years; to simply let the free market determine the appropriate number of cannabis outlets rather than setting an arbitrary limit that benefits a few select business owners.

According to the legislative digest of House Bill 1096, it; “Eliminates the limit on the total number of marijuana retail outlets that may be licensed or medical marijuana endorsements that may be issued in the state or in any county, city, or town. Allows the state liquor and cannabis board to establish a limit on the total number of marijuana licenses that an individual licensee and all other persons or entities with a financial or other ownership interest in the business operating under the license may hold, in the aggregate.”

The measure was filed by Representative Sherry Appleton, and cosponsored by Representatives Laurie Dolan and Mike Chapman; it’s been assigned to the House Commerce and Gaming Committee.

Appleton is also the sponsor of a recently-filed bill that would legalize the home cultivation of cannabis for everyone 21 and older; currently out of the eight states that have legalized cannabis Washington is the only that doesn’t allow it to be grown at home.