So yelled James Lathrop, owner of Cannabis City, the first legal recreational cannabis shop to open in Seattle.
At the official opening of the doors yesterday, James was joined by Alison Holcomb of the ACLU, Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes, elected officials and hundreds of hopeful purchasers.
Alison Holcomb spoke of the decades of the failed drug war in our country.
“Unfortunately, drug offenses have continued to represent the largest category of arrests in the U.S. each year. Roughly 50 percent have been from marijuana.” She went on to say that, “it is estimated that if the U.S. legalized marijuana we could cut profits of Mexican drug cartels by approximately 30 percent.” Holcomb helped craft Initiative 502 – the voter approved initiative that legalized marijuana in 2012.
Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes has worked for many years to decriminalize and then legalize marijuana. He was also a sponsor of Initiative 502. “Today marijuana sales became legal and I’m here to personally exercise that new freedom!” said Holmes.
Washington State Liquor Control Board, the body that governs recreational marijuana in Washington, expects demand to far outweigh supply. There are not enough growers and processors to supply all the retail stores yet. And, only 24 stores have been granted licenses so far. The Liquor Control Board expects supply and demand to equalize by the end of the summer.
Washington is the second state to allow the selling of recreational marijuana, after Colorado. For a guide to legal cannabis in Washington state and other questions about cannabis policy and culture visit The Evergreen, Seattle Times’ blog devoted solely to marijuana.