WA Liquor Control Board to Allow Roughly 400 Dispensaries to Become Licensed Outlets

WA Liquor Control Board to Allow Roughly 400 Dispensaries to Become Licensed Outlets

On July 24th, the Washington State Liquor Control Board will be renamed the Liquor and Cannabis Board, and will be tasked with deciding which of the state’s currently operating medical cannabis collective gardens – which are forced to close by July 1st, 2016 – will be allowed to become licensed and legal outlets.

According to the Associated Press, the Board will use a merit-based system to decide which outlets to license. The Board estimates that 825 outlets will apply for a license, and they expect to approve about half.

First dibs on licenses will go to those that have been in the medical cannabis industry since before 2013, have paid their taxes and have applied for a recreational cannabis license.

Recently we reported that the Liquor Control Board, which has explicit permission to conduct sting operations on collective gardens to see if they’re allowing those under 21 to participate, has been giving bad advice to these establishments, telling them they can distribute to those under 21 despite that being explicitly prohibited by the recently-approved Senate Bill 5052.

– TheJointBlog