Recreational marijuana has been legalized in both Colorado and now Washington but with marijuana shops opening next week to sell weed legally for the first time in Washington, there’s fear that the state might not have enough supply for the oncoming demand. Find out how the state plans to manage this issue after the jump!
“This is an emerging market that doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. It’s a lot different than Colorado. And just like Colorado did when it first opened up, it had some shortages, but Washington’s supply system is very robust and in a little bit of time all those suppliers will be feeding into the retail chain and there will be a lot,” said Brian Smith, the communications director for the state Liquor Control Board who have been given the authority of regulating the retail marijuana market.
The LCB will first issue retail marijuana business licenses to only 20 outlets on Monday, according to Smith. They will then have 24 hours to enter their cannabis inventory to the state’s seed-to-sale marijuana tracking system so that they can open on Tuesday.
However, Seattle’s Cannabis City may be one of the only marijuana shops ready to open by Tuesday. According to its owner, James Lathrop, they will have about 10 pounds of weed and expect to sell out their first day, selling in the $15 to $20 range per gram.
The LCB has also stopped accepting applications and have capped the number of recreational marijuana shops at 334 in attempts to control inevitable shortages. In the first week of recreational sale of marijuana in Colorado, shops made more than $5 million collaboratively. Now, Colorado has more than 100 shops open and has generated sales of about $70 million.
Well, looks like if Washington can keep a hold on supply and demand, plenty of money is to be made off the recreational marijuana business. With that kind of success, it’s only a matter of time before states slowly but surely start joining the money train too.
