If there’s one industry with potential for exponential growth — both literally and figuratively — in Grays Harbor County over the next few years, it may be the state’s fledgling legal marijuana industry. With the opportunity to get in on the bottom floor of the recreational marijuana business, numerous parties have been in contact with the county planning department in recent months seeing what they need to do to set up a marijuana production or processing facility.
“We probably do about 90 percent of our pre-application conferences these days for I-502 businesses,” said Jane Hewitt of the Grays Harbor County Planning Department. “They are people who have a business plan” and seeing what they need to do to take the next step, she added.
One of those that’s in the planning pipeline and that has already passed through a county’s “mitigated determination of non-significance” — mandated by the state Environmental Policy Act — is a large-scale “Tier 3” growing operation (10,000 to 30,000 square feet) planned for 1087 Monte Elma Road by an operation with the name of Green Freedom.
The land is just across the road and in full view from the fairways of the back nine at Oaksridge Golf Course.
According to public documents, the owner is Justin Wildhaber and the proposal in question, according to a county legal notice, was: “to retain grading, filling and leveling of the eastern approximately 500 feet of the subject property for the installation of a fence to enclose a I-502 marijuana and production and processing facility. The subject property is the site of an old sawmill with several equipment sheds proposed for remodel/conversion.”
The fence in question would be 10-feet tall and must shield the operation from public view, as required by state guidelines for I-502 growing operations.
According to Hewitt, because the land is zoned C-2 (general commercial), the operation is now considered an “outright permitted use” for that zone under an ordinance passed by the county commissioners. That means no public hearings are required for Green Freedom to begin operations once all improvements are completed to county requirements and it clears all its hurdles regarding security and product trace-ability with state Liquor Control Board inspectors.
So far, only three “active” growers have been able to pass state muster and are now in operation in the county, but there are at least 35 more pending applications in the county on the books with the Liquor Control Board.
One person who would like to see more local growers get up to speed is Josh Miller, owner of the county’s only open-and-operating recreational marijuana store, located just off Highway 12 in rural Porter.
Miller is already offering more than a dozen different varieties of marijuana in his store for sale, but is always looking to diversify his stock and figures the more growers there are, the lower prices will drop for consumers.
Miller said his first month of operation in Porter went relatively well, noting that the business lost a little bit of money, but “not much compared to most new businesses in their first month of operation.”
According to Liquor Control Board public records, Miller’s store — 3-M’s of Grays Harbor — did $23,275 worth of marijuana sales in October, accounting for $5,819 in taxes for state coffers. The state’s largest single marijuana retailer during the same month — Uncle Ike’s in Seattle — did $468,741 in sales. According to the most updated records on file with the Liquor Control Board, since July 1, retail marijuana sales in the state have reached more than $33.1 million, with about $8.3 million of that going to the state in the form of excise taxes.
“I don’t think a lot of people know where we are yet,” said Miller, “but that will come.”
Miller also said that his store’s sales of marijuana-related paraphernalia has generated about $2,700 in sales tax and he figure about $500 of that will go back to the county.
“So, that’s better for the county than having no business here at all,” Miller said.
Miller did say that his store has just added its first marijuana “edibles” in the form of cookies, on sale for about $14 each. There are now 87 different “marijuana-infused” edibles on the list of state-approved products.
The county’s next retail store will likely be in North Beach at Hogan’s Corner, where the store Pakalolo is trying to get open.
Co-owner and East County attorney Chris Crew said last week that the store’s hoped-for opening sometime this month has been pushed back due to infrastructure issues.
“We’re dealing with a couple of issues that might delay us a month or so,” said Crew. “Our main issue right now is we’re dealing with an old septic system that may have to be replaced. Otherwise, everything is looking good.”
Both Miller and Crew agreed that working with Liquor Control Board authorities has not been a problem. “I haven’t seen or heard from them since my final inspection,” Miller said of state officials.
“My dealings with them have been totally reasonable, professional and respectful,” Crew said.
Miller also noted that he had no security issues and not a single person under the age of 21 has attempted to get in his store.
He did note that one person under the age of 21 inquired about using the store’s bathroom, but Miller had to turn him away.
Meanwhile, there is no sign that retail stores targeted for Aberdeen, Hoquiam or Ocean Shores are anywhere close to opening, according to multiple sources within the industry. According to a list released by the Liquor Control Board, none of those stores were on the list of more than 50 potential retailers statewide who were sent “60-day retail administrative withdrawal notices” last month to make significant progress toward opening or lose their chance at a retail licensee.
As for the county’s third “at-large” store, Hewitt said there are preliminary plans for one to be built in Central Park on a “tiny little lot” on Hill Road, where the old Quinault Logging office used to be located.
No comments:
Post a Comment