Brace yourselves: regulations are coming in Washington state.
Starting July 1, 2016, all Washington state medical dispensaries will be required to have an I-502 license. The Liquor Control Board (soon to be renamed to the Liquor and Cannabis Control Board) plans to distribute about 480 licenses to cannabis businesses that meet the following criteria:
- They received a business license before January 1, 2013
- They are up-to-date with paying their state and federal taxes
- They have applied and/or received a recreational license
The city of Seattle has released a list of the cannabis businesses that may be facing closure upon the implementation of Senate Bill 5052. This includes dispensaries, processors, and other related cannabis businesses. The list of businesses that face getting shutdown include the following:
Medical Marijuana Dispensaries:
- 12 Green
- A Greener Today Fremont
- Best Buds
- Better Day
- Capital Co-op
- Cesars Salad
- Cloners Market
- Clonerville Seattle
- Club Kushco
- Conscious Care Cooperative (2 locations)
- Delightful Care Givers
- Dry Climate
- Emerald Alternative Medical
- Emcrad
- Evergreen Bud & Glass
- Green Anne CG
- Green Dragon Collective
- Green Dragon Medical Cannabis, INC
- Green Leaf
- Green Magic Collection (GMC)
- Green Relief (2 locations)
- Green Rush (2 locations)
- iBud Collective
- Iconic Cannabis Collective
- Jollie’s NW, LLC
- King Kounty Kannabis Klub
- Locals Indoor Garden
- Lucky Ladyz
- Mary Jane Gardens House of Kush
- New Millennium North
- Northwest Alchemy
- Northwest Patient Resource Center
- NW Buddha Gardens
- Oh My Kush
- Pacific Coast Northern
- PDA Lounge
- Peoples Champz Collective & Edibles
- Pure Nirvana Caretaking
- Rainier Alternative
- Rich Buds
- Safe Access
- Seattle Caregivers
- Sodo Holistic Health
- Starbuds Cooperative
- Terra-Canna
- The Gas Station
- The Portal Seattle
- TopShelf
- Urban Roots Co-op
- Yup Yup Collectives
- OKC Collective
- SEED
Producers/Processors:
- Butterface
- Emerald City Organics
- Essence Extracts
- Golden Dragon Medicinal
- Mondo Medicinals
- Northwest Tinctures
- Cascade Cannabis
- The Homegrown Connoisseur
Other Cannabis Businesses:
- Apothecarius
- Atlas Salvage
- Beacon Buds
- Central Business District
- Contender Agriculture
- Emerald Industries
- Emerald Twins Herbs
- Fifty Plus
- Fuego Farms, LLC
- Green Joy
- Happy Kiss, LLC
- Jet City
- Kingsley, John P.
- Medbud Nu Old Skool Collective
- NW Hemp
- NW Molecular, LLC
- Phenotype Farmers
- R & L
- SJSJ, LLC
- Specialized Products Group
- The Greenhouse Group, LLC
- Top Shelf Gardens
Is your favorite dispensary on the list? Favorite edible company? When you saw the list, did your heart jump into your throat while you threw your hands up to the heavens, crying out, “Noooooooooooo!!!” and cursing the cannabis gods for your misfortune?
Well, here’s the good news:
This list is not complete, nor is it final. It's not the be-all, end-all for medical marijuana dispensaries and cannabis businesses. Some of these dispensaries will be given the chance to apply for and earn a state-issued license, and many of these, if they are forced to shutter their businesses, may be able to re-open as soon as they get their ducks in a row.
In the meantime, my medically legal Washington friends, brace yourselves. Steel your resolve. And, as always, #JustSayKnow
