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Regional Journalism
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 Marijuana Rules Pave Way For Stores Next Year

Katheirne Hitt
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Flickr - tinyurl.com/mobc9zf

Washington’s Liquor Control Board has formally adopted 43 pages of rules for legal, recreational marijuana.

The unanimous vote Wednesday caps a lengthy process that began after last year’s approval of legal pot.

There was no confetti, balloons or cake. More a sense of relief that the heavy-lifting is done. Washington’s three-person Liquor Board and its staff have been mired for nearly a year in the intricacies of how to regulate the growing, processing and selling of marijuana and marijuana-infused products.

Board member Chris Marr cautioned the rules will need to be adjusted over time.

“I think we all acknowledge we might not have it exactly right today," he says. "But I do think we’re in an excellent position to open up stores by the middle of next year and capture the 25 percent of the market that our consultant tells us we can reasonable expect to capture initially.”

The marijuana rules will become effective on November 16. Two days later the state will begin accepting applications from would-be pot entrepreneurs. Applicants will have to have lived in Washington for at least three months and pass a background check, among other requirements.

On the Web:

I-502 Implementation - Washington 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."