Numerous Regulations Make Life Difficult for the State’s Aspiring Marijuana Merchants

Summary: Those hoping to set up a marijuana retail shop in Pullman or elsewhere in the state are forced to satisfy a large number of bureaucratic regulations, ranging from heavy security requirements to occupancy permits.

Outline:

I) Introduction

·         Bureaucratic regulations

II) Security and Fire Requirements

·         Liquor Control Board

·         MJ’s Pot Shop

·         Security Details

·         Fire Inspection

III) Change of Occupancy Permit

·         Definition

·         Lack of Precedent

IV) Zoning Issues

·         Commercial Three Zone

·         Difficulties for MJ’s Pot Shop

·         City’s Rebuttal

·         Future Stores

Sources:

Rich Dragoo: (509) 338-3274

Pete Dickinson: (509) 338-3213

Mary Jane Smith: (509)332-5203

Marijuana may be legal in Washington, but it can be quite difficult to sell.

As new marijuana production, processing and retail businesses attempt to set up shop across the state and in Pullman, the aspiring entrepreneurs behind these operations must comply with a wide array of bureaucratic regulations before they can start to profit off of the plant. Some of these regulations are standard for any new business; however, some are not.

The Liquor Control Board – the agency in charge of recreational marijuana implementation – has laid out an expansive list of security requirements that all retail stores must abide by.

For the only retail marijuana outlet in Pullman, fulfilling those requirements came with a price.

“You just pay a lot of money to have a specialist do it,” said Mary Jane Smith, the owner of MJ’s Pot Shop. “You have to have everything ready to go. You put a lot of money out before you can get a license.”

The risk associated with spending a significant amount of money without a guarantee of receiving a license is enough to dissuade a lot of people, Smith said.

Some of the security requirements include identification badges, alarm systems, video surveillance and a traceability system that tracks all marijuana from “seed to sale.”

Like other businesses, all Pullman marijuana retail shops must pass a fire inspection before opening. According to Rich Dragoo, Pullman’s fire prevention officer, establishing fire code for these new businesses has not presented any issues locally.

The retail outlets also have to fill out a “change of occupancy” permit, Pullman planning director Pete Dickinson said. A change of occupancy permit is required any time one type of business is planning to operate in a building previously used for a different purpose. Since there have not been any precedents for marijuana shops, all potential Pullman outlets will need to get a change of occupancy permit.

“We require the businesses owners to hire an architect to show what they intend to do with that building space,” Dickinson said.

Dickinson said another issue facing marijuana shops is that many landlords are not interested in leasing space to the stores due to the drug’s illegal status federally.

Beyond MJ’s Pot Shop, two other retail outlets are zoned for Pullman. According to Dickinson, all potential marijuana shops are restricted to Pullman’s Commercial Three Zone, covering parts of Grand Avenue and Bishop Boulevard. The zone is the only area of Pullman that satisfies all of the state’s spatial restrictions on pot shops, which require minimum distances from different places where minors congregate.

Finding an acceptable spot for a store was one of the most difficult parts of the process, Smith said.

Smith found the Liquor Control Board easy to work with and receptive to her questions, but did not feel the same about local government.

“The city building and engineering department were not the nicest people to work with,” Smith said.  “It seems like the city of Pullman makes up rules as they go.”

Dickinson had a different opinion, noting that Pullman’s six month moratorium on marijuana businesses allowed the city time to adequately prepare for the new state industry.

Because of the limited space available to them, the next two marijuana shops might share a facility, Dickinson said. They would be located at 1340 SE Bishop Blvd, where the current Tanfastic building is. MJ’s Pot shop is across the street.