A couple of tidbits concerning legal marijuana in Washington:
The FBI is not doing background checks on I-502 license applicants, though they do for Colorado licensees. And, they do checks on the ACA Navigators in Texas. Go figure.
Almost all states with legal cannabis either for retail or medical uses have a 1000 feet rule, operations are not to be located within 1000 feet of a school, park, or anyplace kids are likely to be. No such rule applies to alcohol, obviously. Port Townsend has been allocated one retail store in it’s town, and due to the 1000 feet rule there is only one spot, one building, that qualifies. Pretty good deal for the landlord; or maybe not. San Francisco has recently changed it’s rule to 600 feet because the measurement is horizontal, and doesn’t allow for steep hills. PT has that geography, too, but there aren’t any exceptions right now.
Now, PT has one of the last paper mills in the region, where there used to be many. The mill has been the stalwart of good jobs and built the community over 100 years. For that reason the odor from the mill is tolerated, almost always confined to one area near the mill itself.
The one place in PT where a cannabis retailer could locate is in that small area near the mill where the annoying odor is worst. Amongst other things, cannabis is sold by it’s smell, like wine or cigars.