PORT ANGELES –– Over a reggae track and amid a tall crop of marijuana plants, Port Angeles members of the first crop of legal marijuana growers are giving the digital world a look behind the scenes of the state’s newest industry.
Peninsula Cannabis owners Molly and Ryan Herring are producing PenCanna TV on YouTube to give the world an inside look behind their legal marijuana grow operation.
“Our mission in bringing you PenCanna TV is really to show you, the world, kind of what’s going on in Washington state and how the new legal recreational market is going to do — the in and outer workings of it,” Molly Herring said in the first episode, which debuted April 20.
“We believe that this is a really important, historic thing to document.”
Ryan Herring said he plans to upload the second episode by next Sunday, May 4.
PenCanna TV is the merging of the Herrings’ two businesses, Peninsula Cannabis and Creative Media Productions.
The first episode of PenCanna TV can be seen here: http://tinyurl.com/PDN-PenCannaTV.
Last year, Ryan Herring screened a pilot in Port Angeles for “The Olympians,” a series about North Olympic Peninsula pioneers that he co-wrote and directed.
The show wasn’t picked up, but he is reworking it to be presented as a series of short episodes.
Their hope is the marijuana profits will help fund their film production business.
Operating inside the old United Rentals warehouse across from the closed Walmart store building in east Port Angeles, the Herrings’ Peninsula Cannabis is one of two recreational marijuana grow operations on the North Olympic Peninsula licensed by the state under Initiative 502.
Voters approved the measure that created a legal market for recreational marijuana in November 2012.
The other is owned by Thomas Ash, who began production at his Tropic Grow operation in a barn at Dungeness on April 1.
For now, the Herrings are using their film experience to show the world impacts of Washington’s budding marijuana industry.
“It’s our chance to give this new venture of the state some transparency,” Ryan Herring said.
“We have an opportunity to show it’s not a bunch of thugs with machine guns standing around.
“It’s a safe, legitimate business run by a small family.”
The first episode views much like a gardening show. The Herrings talking about how they care for the plants and the rich soil they use to grow them.
“The plants get what they want out of the soil,” Molly Herring said.
“The plants do it for themselves, and we just let them do it.”
Their first crop came out of Molly’s medical marijuana supply.
Marijuana grown by the Herrings will be sold in retail marijuana outlets that are expected to be operating by July.
The Washington State Liquor Control Board held a lottery last week to award licenses for those who want to run retail outlets. Those licenses are scheduled to be announced Friday.
Ten stores will be allowed on the Peninsula.
Clallam County has been allotted six: two in Port Angeles, one in Sequim and three anywhere else.
Jefferson County has been allowed four: one in Port Townsend and three anywhere else.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
