On Wednesday morning, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board revealed that they had just completed “compliance checks” to make recreational dispensaries were only selling to canna-consumers aged 21 and over.
These checks, the first ones performed, were held in Western Washington, and involved 22 recreational cannabis shops.
So, how did they do? Probably great, as this was something that had been announced weeks ago, and involved some basic common sense, and it would certainly look bad to screw it up so early on, so store owners must have been ready!
Well, here’s the thing…
Four out of the 22 recreational dispensaries failed—nearly 20 percent of those examined.
That compares poorly to grocery stores, who have exhibited a compliance rate of 92 percent for selling alcohol to those of proper age, and even worse to state-run liquor stores, which were at a 95 percent rate before being closed for privatization.
As Seattle Weekly points out, this doesn’t look good for advocates of I-502 who wanted cannabis to be treated the same as alcohol.
(Or, as Daniel Pearson’s headline reads, “Recreational Pot Is Having Its First PR Fiasco.”)
This very poor showing from Washington’s recreational dispensaries also plays right into the hands of prohibitionists who scream, “What about the children? Won’t somebody PLEASE think about the children?”
Tighten up your game, Washington. And learn from our neighbors to the north, Oregon. We’re next.
