PORT ANGELES — Clallam County’s first recreational pot store is open for business.
The Hidden Bush opened quietly Monday at 3230 E. U.S. Highway 101 east of Port Angeles, offering eight strains of potent cannabis at prices ranging from $22.50 per gram to $30 per gram after taxes.
“We wanted a real soft start to make sure everything was functioning properly,” said co-owner Anthony Owen, a former contractor from Port Angeles.
Owen and his wife, Heather, say they have enough supply from an Okanogan grower to keep the doors open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“It’s been slow, but people are definitely coming in and checking it out as they’re realizing we’re here,” said Heather Owen, a former banker from Sequim.
The Owens and four other employees will offer more varieties of marijuana — and eventually concentrates and edibles — as more products become available.
“Our menu is going to grow exponentially as the weeks go by,” Anthony Owen said.
State voters, including 55 percent in Clallam County and 65 percent in Jefferson County, approved Initiative 502 in 2012 to legalize the possession and sale of up to 1 ounce of marijuana by those older than 21.
Hidden Bush is the third recreational marijuana retailer to open on the North Olympic Peninsula and the first in Clallam County.
“It’s always nice to pioneer an industry,” Anthony Owen said.
Anthony Owen manages a separate nonprofit medicinal marijuana cooperative located upstairs from the new business.
That experience should give Hidden Bush a competitive edge and ensure that quality product is available on the Peninsula, he said.
“This isn’t our first rodeo,” Anthony Owen said.
“With the medical cooperative, it’s all about quality control for our patients. So we’re just bringing the same level of integrity to this business.”
The Hidden Bush was so-named as a play on the taboo associated with the cannabis industry, which the Owens hope to see legitimized.
“We wanted to bring the taboo into the name,” Anthony Owen said.
“We just thought it was a clever name.”
Hidden Bush currently offers four indica hybrids for customers seeking a sedative, relaxed high and four sativa hybrids for those seeking a cerebral, energetic effect, he said.
The clean, green interior of the store is adorned with paintings of Bob Marley and Seattle Seahawks Richard Sherman and Marshawn Lynch.
The Owens will eventually sell select strains of marijuana grown and processed by Peninsula vendors.
“We’re going to be pretty choosy on what local strains come in,” Anthony Owen said.
“They’re going to have to meet a certain criteria. Quality control is everything for us.”
Legal recreational marijuana is more expensive than black market pot because of a 25 percent excise tax imposed on growers, producers and retailers, plus sales tax.
“If a processor is separate from a producer, then it’s taxed three times,” Anthony Owen explained.
“Every time it changes hands, there’s a 25 percent excise tax connected to it.”
He added: “I understand that regulation means taxation, and so we’re going to have to get through that in order for this market to mellow out.”
Anthony Owen predicted that prices will come down for marijuana grown outdoors, while the cost of indoor cannabis will remain high as a “boutique industry.”
The state Liquor Control Board is in charge of licensing marijuana businesses.
Clallam County is allowed up to six marijuana retailers: two in Port Angeles, one in Sequim and three anywhere else in the county.
Jefferson County will get four retail pot shops: one in Port Townsend and three elsewhere.
Sea Change Cannabis at 282332 U.S. Highway 101 became the region’s first marijuana retail outlet when it opened in Discovery Bay with limited stock July 25. It has since expanded its hours as supply has caught up with demand.
Herbal Access Retail at 661 Ness’ Corner Road in Port Hadlock opened last month.
The owners of the former Blue Flame barbecue restaurant on the 4900 block of East U.S. Highway 101 east of Port Angeles intend to open the Green Flame marijuana store in the same spot.
In August, the liquor board denied the Owens’ application to open Hidden Bush near the Port Angeles Walmart at 2840 E. U.S. Highway 101.
Clallam County Community Development Director Sheila Roark Miller objected to that location because of its proximity to the Klahhane Gymnastics studio.
The new law prohibits marijuana businesses from siting within 1,000 feet of a school, park or other place where children congregate.
Although the gymnastics studio is not a school, is it used by students from Port Angeles and Sequim as a community recreation center.
The Owens were three days from final inspection when the state issued its ruling.
Sequim has a moratorium on retail marijuana until February.
Port Townsend in August set zoning conditions for marijuana growing.
Jefferson County has imposed a moratorium on all new marijuana businesses until February.
Clallam County last month passed a six-month ordinance to keep new growing and processing operations out of medium- and high-density rural neighborhoods.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
