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Dispatches from public radio's correspondent at the Washington Legislature. Austin Jenkins is the Olympia correspondent for the Northwest News Network. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) weekly public affairs program "Inside Olympia."

Washington Liquor Board To Propose Caps On Pot Production, Stores

Katheirne Hitt
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Flickr - tinyurl.com/mobc9zf

We’re about to find out the number of marijuana retail store locations that will be allowed in each of Washington’s 39 counties.

The state’s Liquor Control Board plans to release that information Wednesday. It will be part of the latest draft rules for Washington’s new legal pot marketplace.

The rules for marijuana retailers have already been written in excruciating detail – down to the pixels required on store security cameras. But how many stores there will be has been anyone’s guess.

Now that information is ready to be released. Brian Smith from Washington’s Liquor Control Board says the Board plans to announce not only a cap on the number of licenses but where the retail stores should be located in each county.

“In particular, we will have it broken down proportionately by the most populous areas within the county," says Smith. "So for example in Thurston County where I live, there would be a certain number assigned to say Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater and the number of at-large stores.”

The new pot rules will also include a cap on overall marijuana production statewide. The license and production caps will be based on estimated pot consumption rates in Washington before legalization.

On the Web:

I-502 Implemetation - Washington state Liquor Control Board

Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy, as well as the Washington State Legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia."