Marijuana growers are preparing for the first week of July in the state of Washington, which is when the first 20-30 stores receiving legal marijuana sale licenses are allowed to sell product, according to Seattlepi.com. What is still up in the air is when the stores will open, how much people can buy and how much it will cost.
“There’s just no way it’s not going to sell out,” said Attila Soos, the owner of Verdavanti, a grower licensed in the state. “We’ll have product for retailers as long as they are licensed. We expect things to start rolling out July 1st, but it is safe to assume that not all retailers will receive their license July 1st, so you’ll likely see our products being rolled out in weekly phases across the state.”
Soos also said that there is a free-market battle occurring within the state.
“We’re at a point where one gentleman wrote to every single producer and processor that he wanted to buy product, and he kept everyone in the contact list. The next retailer simply hit the reply-all button and said ‘I’ll match whatever you guys offer to him and on top of it I’ll add 15 percent. There’s no real feasible way to meet the demand at this point.”
John Evich is a retail hopeful in the state. “We’re pioneers in the industry. We want to be among the first to open. We want to benefit the future of the industry, because my research tells me that if we charge everyone $25 a gram, people are going to be pissed off at the industry and say that retail is a joke.”
Evich works for Top Shelf Cannabis in Bellingham. The retailer is owned by Thomas Beckely. Evich thinks the store will be one of the first licensed in Washington.
“We want to offer a wide variety of prices and quality that’s affordable,” Evich said. “I’ve had a lot of people tell me, ‘We’re just going to keep buying from the black market or from medical.’ And that’s what we don’t want to see. I want to see this come out, and the retail be looked at, and (Initiative) 502 be looked at, as a good thing and a fair thing.”