If I were O'Toole I'd be worried about Pot Riots due to shortage.
Especially the elderly who want to buy pot legally.
Maybe SPD can ask Drug Feds for supplies to keep people calm until 502 Stores have ramped up production?

Hey, quick props to the creation of separate Slog Music blog. Well done. I've been getting sick of seeing those posts like many other Sloggers.

@1 "If I were O'Toole I'd be worried about Pot Riots due to shortage."

LOL The black and grey pot market is functioning just fine in WA. Yes there is likely to be an initial shortage of "newly legal" pot to buy because of the confusing rules. But so what? Eventually it'll work its way out. In the meantime the black and grey pot supplies will still be there.

Riots, LOL.

@2, where have you been ? Slog Music = B, Slog = A+B where A is old slog content and B = music content. You're getting music ish nomatter what.

It will be interesting to see what the state does with this sudden windfall from 25% tax on marijuana. Maybe they'll even consider lowering the tax on alcohol.

Chef, has Slog Music been up for awhile? mistake on my part. i should avoid posts about weed, too many nonsensical connotations for me. i'll let the pragmatists speak.

Will the SPD be monitoring the lines outside the first stores? Seems like that would be a great source of revenue for criminals, with or without badges. Just a bunch of (presumably) unarmed stoners with large amounts of cash on them.

Hearing that prices likely to be $25-$30 per gram... Ill stick to the black market thank you very much!

I still think Washington missed a bet. In my mind, the best model for legal sales, and benefit for the state, is a completely state-run operation, from farm to store. A tax of 25% is nothing. The cost of product is close to nothing compared to its market price. A state-run system could tightly regulate sales, make sure no one is buying above the legal amount by making purchases at multiple stores, and funnel all the profits into state coffers. Also, I'm not sure the Feds would be able to criminally prosecute a state, due to its sovereignty. And payment transfers wouldn't be an issue, since a state has its own treasury and also the ability to charter its own banks.

I wish Washington and Colorado nothing but well. I hope this works out and I'd like to see legalization spread. I just think the state could have done better for itself.

Question curiously not asked/answered: "At one point it was indicated that we all would be able to grow some (small) number of plants for our personal consumption. That is apparently no longer permitted? What happened??"

@11, IIRC home growing was NEVER apart of I502.

@11: I believe you can grow in CO, like 2 plants or something. not here, because we have to think of the children.

@13, personal growing by a medical marijuana user is allowed here.

@13 they're trying to stop that too...

@11 and did you vote for 502 with that expectation??... :eye roll:

Max @13: The maximum number of plants you can grow in Colorado is six at a time, and only three can be fully matured. The plants need to be on your own private property out of the public view.

Oh, and that's per person, not per household. That includes everyone, MMJ or not.

Untested, huh? *stares at Colorado*. Yep. Nothing like it at all. Not one thing anywhere in the world. Right.

Way to keep supporting this shitty program guys, really has worked out great! Im sure people will be thrilled to spend $25/g. At least there's the gray market delivery services, because 502 is all kinds of clusterfuck.

Is there any kind of listing anywhere of the stores that are going to be opening? I've been completely unable to find one and I'm not well served here in south King County by the one that's there to serve Seattle. But I've no idea if there's one that'll be more convenient.

@18: exactly what I was thinking. How did we fail so badly? Because we Washington processed it.

One of the advertised benefits of legal weed was that it would drive the black market out of business. With both the extremely high state taxes imposed and the defacto criminalization on the local level in the form of "moratoriums" on business license and restrictions placed on store location, the black market will be around for a long time.

Why pay 4 times the price for what "my guy" down the street can sell me for a reasonable price?

@20, Sean asked if there exists a "listing of the stores that are going to be opening." No such list exists. The liquor board have granted only 24 retail licenses. To arrive at a guess at where stores might open in the future, you could map addresses of the thousands of applicants. For a better guess, look to zoning and find the few holes.