Weedless in Seattle: Washington’s Looming Pot Shortage

On July 8,
six months after Colorado retailers began selling marijuana to
recreational consumers, Washington’s state-licensed pot stores are
supposed to start opening. But as I explain in my latest
Forbes column, their shelves may not be stocked for
long. Here is how the how the column begins:

Washington’s state-licensed pot stores are expected to start
opening next month, but they won’t have much to sell. A slow state
licensing process for marijuana producers, combined with the
difficulty of obtaining local approval for grow operations, will
result in shortages that are apt to be more severe than
those seen
in Colorado after recreational sales began there in
January. The result could be prices almost twice as high as those
charged by medical marijuana dispensaries and black-market
dealers.

The Washington State Liquor Control Board (LCB)plans to
award 20 or so retail licenses on July 7, meaning the first stores
could open as soon as July 8. Eventually there are supposed to be
334 outlets across the state, although that plan looks doubtful in
light of temporary
or permanent bans by about 90 local governments.
Meanwhile, as of last Tuesday, the LCB has awarded just
62 marijuana production licenses; more than 2,500 applications from
would-be growers are still pending.

Read the whole thing.