OLYMPIA — North Olympic Peninsula marijuana retail stores passed the first round of checks on compliance with laws directing no sales be made to those under 21.
Mister Buds, Hidden Bush and Sparket in Port Angeles, Sea Change Cannabis in Discovery Bay and Herbal Access Retail in Port Hadlock passed the compliance checks conducted at 157 stores from mid-May until the end of June, the Washington State Liquor Control Board reported Friday.
Eighteen stores in the state sold to minors — one twice for a total of 19 violations— the liquor control board said.
Three stores were in Everett, with one selling to an underage investigative aide on two occasions. Three were in Tacoma.
One each were in Shoreline, Blaine, Lake Stevens, Arlington, Spokane, Eastsound, Rochester, Olympia, Shelton, Okanogan, Kenmore and Seattle.
The co-owner of the Blaine store said that a math error caused the violation there, according to The Bellingham Herald.
Jacob Lamont, Evergreen Cannabis co-owner and manager, said the customer’s identification showed a birth date only a couple months shy of 21.
The employee “did her own math, and that was the problem,” he said.
The checks represent an 88 percent no-sales-to-minors compliance rate, the state said.
“Our goal is 100 percent compliance,” said Jane Rushford, chairwoman of the liquor control board.
“While perfect compliance is always a challenging goal, it is clearly in everyone’s interest that our licensees be vigilant about preventing underage sales,” Rushford said.
The 18 businesses will be cited for selling marijuana to minors, with cases referred to the respective prosecuting attorney’s office for potential criminal prosecution.
Businesses cited for sale to a minor face a 10-day suspension or $2,500 fine. A second violation within three years requires a 30-day suspension with no monetary option. Businesses who receive three public safety violations within three years face license cancellation.
The compliance checks were the first of retail marijuana stores since they opened following 2012 voter approval of Initiative 502 which legalized recreational marijuana for adults.
Investigative aides between 18 and 20 years old assist officers with compliance checks.
For more information, see “press releases” at www.liq.wa.gov/.
