Washington Liquor Board Drives Cannabis Cup Out of State

A couple of years ago, when Initiative 502 (Washington state’s ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana) was in its nascent phase, I wrote about concerns shared by myself and nearly every medical cannabis user that the state liquor board would do whatever it could to systematically destroy the medical cannabis market in an effort to be the only dealer in town, and funnel every green dollar into their already overfilled pockets.

I was worried that there would be an inherent conflict of interest with the liquor board running the show. They are first and foremost booze peddlers, their allegiance will always be to alcohol and they are taking a very hardline approach to cannabis. They are taxing the ever-loving hell out of weed and making it extremely difficult for the cannabis movement to take firm roots.

So far, the clearest and most public victim of these avaricious laws has been the High Times Cannabis Cup. Held annually for the last couple years, the Cannabis Cup has been a wild success, with more people attending every year. These cannabis expos are exceptionally important to the burgeoning legal weed businesses who use them to market their products, hand out swag, and commune with prospective customers. This year, the state liquor board has made it such a nightmare to find a venue and get proper licenses that High Times has decided to take their party to Portland, who is welcoming them with open arms.

A statement from a liquor board representative read, “The law states that you cannot consume marijuana in public, and these events are, by definition, open to the public because you are selling tickets and/or inviting anyone in — they are not private/invite only events so right off the bat you have a conflict. The law also states you cannot give marijuana away… so vendors can’t give it away, and they can’t sell it because they are not on their licensed premises.”

They haven’t outright rendered the Cannabis Cup illegal, but they created a situation that literally made it impossible to hold the event. The liquor board is employing borderline mafia tactics, and they are doing it at the expense of the state’s economic well-being.

Sure, they are getting a little extra money from their taxes and draconian laws, but the cannabis market isn’t going anywhere, it’s only going to grow and these rules are going to drive cannabis business out of Washington to other states that don’t make it so hard to operate. I truly hope the voters in my state can reign in this gross abuse of authority.