DISCOVERY BAY — Sea Change Cannabis expects to open its doors at 10 a.m. Friday after having delayed its debut for nearly a week.
“We are really excited to open up,” said owner Greg Brotherton on Thursday.
“We hope to see a lot of people, but hopefully not more than we can handle.”
The store, a former espresso stand designed to look like a log cabin at 282332 U.S. Highway 101, will be the first recreational marijuana outlet on the North Olympic Peninsula.
It will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday, he said.
Brotherton said he will be open weekends only until more inventory becomes available. Then he expects to do business seven days a week.
He had announced he would open last Saturday but changed the date when the state marijuana license did not arrive in time.
Brotherton had ordered 4 pounds of marijuana to sell when he planned to open last Saturday but canceled the order when he realized he wouldn’t open his doors then.
For Friday’s debut, he has just 2½ pounds to sell — about 320 packages.
The packages of marijuana will be available in 1/8-ounce packages from $45 to $55, depending on the grade.
Among the marijuana he is selling is product grown by Port Angeles-based Peninsula Cannabis.
Eventually, Brotherton hopes to sell grams, ounces, edible product and pre-rolled joints, but he doesn’t know when he will be able to do so.
“We are selling anything we can get our hands on right now,” he said.
Under Initiative 502, which was approved by voters in November 2012, adults older than 21 can possess no more than 1 ounce of marijuana for recreational purposes.
This also translates to a retail establishment, Brotherton said. No single consumer can purchase more than 1 ounce per day.
There is no policy about limiting purchases per person up to that limit, but that could change.
“Right now we have no limits, but if we sell one-third of our product on Friday, we may close down for the rest of the day,” he said.
The store will not accept check or credit cards, but cash will be available at an ATM in the adjacent Discovery Bay Village Store, which Brotherton also owns and operates.
The state allotted Jefferson County four retail cannabis stores: one in Port Townsend and three in unincorporated areas.
Two other pot shops in Jefferson County are in the latter stage of the approval process.
Gracen Hook, who expects to open Port Townsend’s sole retail outlet at 1433 W. Sims Way, will open in September at the earliest, while Forrest Thomsen’s Herbal Access Retail at 661 Ness’ Corner Road is shooting for mid-August.
The state allotted Clallam County six retail stores: two in Port Angeles, one in Sequim and three anywhere else.
None expects to receive a state license this month.
Heather Owen, owner of the Hidden Bush outside Port Angeles, said she hopes to have her license by early August.
“Now we’re just waiting for the state to do its thing,” she said. “We’re hoping to be open in the next couple of weeks.”
Wendy Buck-Benge of Sparket in Port Angeles said contractor delays have pushed back the opening until after Labor Day.
Malik Atwater, too, is waiting for contractors to finish remodeling his Mr. Buds store in Port Angeles.
Rodney Caldwell said he will wait to open Weed-R-Us on U.S. Highway 101 outside Port Angeles until more marijuana is available for sale.
In Sequim, David Halpern said he is expecting to get the keys for his shop site on West Washington Street on Aug. 1 but will then have to begin remodeling the place to meet the state’s marijuana shop requirements.
That may be moot, anyhow, as Sequim has a moratorium in place prohibiting the establishment of marijuana businesses.
Jennifer Brassfield with the High Grade Organics shop in Forks did not return calls seeking an opening date.
City Attorney Rod Fleck said he has not yet been contacted by the liquor board about Brassfield’s shop.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie contributed to this report.
