Claim: Washington state cannabis retailer opens in defiance of county ban.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Cannabis in Washington (state)
text: as distribution and sales were strictly regulated by the state. On November 18, 2013, the state began accepting applications for marijuana businesses including growers, processors and retail outlets. The Liquor Control Board initially planned to allow 334 retail stores and of growing space statewide. The first recreational cannabis stores in Washington opened to the public on July 8, 2014. In accordance with the Federal 2014 Farm Bill, the state legislature passed ESSB 6206 in 2016, creating the Industrial Hemp Research Pilot (IHRP). The state's first post-Prohibition hemp crop was planted at Moses Lake in 2017, and a total of was

title: Cannabis in Washington (state)
text: went ignored by law enforcement. By 2011, there were around 75 storefront dispensaries open in Seattle and 55 in Spokane. That same year, the state legislature passed an overhaul of medical marijuana laws, which would have created a system of state-licensed growers, processors and dispensaries. Governor Christine Gregoire, however, vetoed most of the new legislation, explaining that she would "not subject [...] state employees to federal prosecution." In April 2011, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington Michael C. Ormsby ordered all dispensaries operating in Spokane to cease operations. Most complied, but several owners who refused to close

title: Cannabis in Washington (state)
text: by law enforcement. The cooperative, run by Joanna McKee and Ronald L. (Stich) Miller, provided cannabis at little or no cost to over 70 patients with diseases such as AIDS, cancer, and multiple sclerosis. Both McKee and Miller were arrested, and around 130 cannabis plants were seized. The case was later dismissed when a Kitsap County judge ruled that the search warrant used to execute the raid was invalid. McKee and Miller moved the co-op to Seattle and resumed operations. In reaction to the raid against the Green Cross Patient Co-op, an attorney from Tacoma named Ralph Seeley sued the

title: Initiative 71
text: for allegedly selling paraphernalia. As required in a deferred prosecution agreement with U.S. Attorneys, owners Adam Eidinger and Alan Amsterdam were forced to shut down the stores in September 2012 and decided to start the process to change the law. In early 2013, local activists Adam Eidinger and Nikolas Schiller formed a skeleton organization "DCMJ" to advocate decriminalization of marijuana in the District. After seeing no movement from the Council of the District of Columbia, Eidinger submitted initial paperwork for a decriminalization ballot initiative, which was rejected by the Board of Election in September 2013 on technical budgetary grounds. The

title: Washington Initiative 502
text: Kennedy have started Project SAM to promote what they call "smart approaches to marijuana." Initial draft rules were released on May 16, with the public comment period set to end on June 10, 2013. Public hearings shall begin in August for rules to become effective in September and first licenses expected in December 2013 or the following January. Consultants estimate $495 million in annual sales among 300 stores across all counties, the highest concentration being in King, Pierce and Thurston counties. The first two dozen retail licenses were issued for July 2014, but delays in licensing producers are anticipated to

title: Cannabis in Washington (state)
text: their stores were arrested. Later that year, federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries also occurred in western Washington. 15 dispensaries were targeted in cities including Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Puyallup, Lacey and Rochester. In spite of federal prohibition, public support in the state for marijuana reform continued to grow. In 2003, Seattle passed an initiative making adult marijuana possession the lowest priority of law enforcement agencies in the city. Tacoma passed a similar initiative in 2011. A 2010 poll by the University of Washington found that 52% of Washington voters supported removing criminal and civil penalties for marijuana possession. In early

title: Cannabis on American Indian reservations
text: grow operations on two reservations in Modoc County in Northern California. Plants and prepared cannabis were seized, but no arrests were made; news reporting indicated that the informant whose complaint sparked the raid was involved in a political power struggle with one of the growers, who is also her brother. "The Washington Post" in 2014 noted that the Yakama Nation of Washington State, following the state's legalization of cannabis, opposed legalization in ten state counties containing what the tribe considers its traditional lands. Cannabis on American Indian reservations Cannabis on American Indian reservations historically largely fell under the same regulations

title: Cannabis in Washington (state)
text: or processor licenses. Growers may only legally sell cannabis to licensed processors or retailers—not directly to consumers. Unlike other states that have legalized recreational cannabis, Washington does not allow unlicensed cultivation for personal use. In May 2014, the Liquor and Cannabis Board held a lottery to award licenses to qualified applicants. Retail sales began in July 2014. As retailers only had two months to establish storefronts and acquire inventory, stores experienced supply issues during the summer of 2014. This caused limited availability and inflated prices for consumers. During the first several months of legal sales, prices exceeded US$20 per gram.

title: Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board
text: sole distributor of all liquors and spirits in the state. In addition, they were also the primary retailer: the state operated 167 stores, while 163 stores were operated by private businesses who contracted with the state for a commission on the sales. These contract stores were generally located in either smaller cities or more remote and rural areas, while the state stores were typically located in larger, more populated areas. Because the state was the sole distributor of all spirits, uniform pricing was set so that the price of any given product was the same from store to store no

title: Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board
text: state funding. As a result, the agency no longer hires entry level law enforcement officers. The current Chief of the Enforcement and Education Division is Justin Nordhorn. The Division has regional offices in Federal Way, Tacoma, Spokane, Mountlake Terrace and Mount Vernon as well as field offices in Seattle and Pasco. In 2005, the Seattle City Council asked the Liquor Control Board to prohibit the sale of certain low-priced, highly-alcoholic beverages in an impoverished "Alcohol Impact Area." The City requested the order after an earlier, "Good Neighbor" policy, in which the city requested convenience stores and liquor outlets in areas

title: Cannabis in Washington (state)
text: originally opened in Tacoma but moved to Seattle in 2013. The monthly enclosed market features medical cannabis and is free and open to all legal medical marijuana patients. The Cannabis Farmers Market has inspired others in Olympia and Seattle, Washington, and several other states. A similar event scheduled in Vancouver, Washington was cancelled in November 2012 at the request of local police. Cannabis in Washington (state) Cannabis in Washington relates to a number of legislative, legal, and cultural events surrounding the use of cannabis (marijuana, hashish, THC, kief, etc.). On December 6, 2012, Washington became the first U.S. state to

title: Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board
text: matter how rural or populated the area was. Historically, off-premises Sunday sales of spirits were banned, and all liquor stores were closed. Consumers still had the option of purchasing beer or wine from grocery stores or on-premises spirits from bars and restaurants. In 2005, the state began allowing off-premises spirits sales in select stores on Sundays from 12pm to 5pm. On the November 8, 2011 election, voters passed Initiative 1183, which brought several changes to the liquor distribution and retailing system. The most significant of these changes were the end to the state monopoly on liquor sales and distribution. On

title: Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board
text: prohibition, beginning June 1, 2012. State and local government revenues are projected to increase by $42 million and $38 million respectively over the next six years as a result along with a 48 percent increase in alcohol consumption. In November 2012, citizen's initiative 502 was passed legalizing the recreational use of cannabis and assigning regulation of the cannabis industry to the then Liquor Control Board. The board's name was officially changed to reflect the addition of cannabis effective July 24, 2015. Alcohol prohibition was repealed by Washington Initiative 61 in 1932, and from 1933 to 2012, the WSLCB was the

title: Cannabis in Washington (state)
text: state of Washington, seeking to have cannabis rescheduled as a Schedule II drug. This would have allowed doctors to write prescriptions for medical marijuana. Seeley, who had been diagnosed with a rare bone cancer in 1986, used cannabis obtained from the co-op to treat the side effects of his chemotherapy. A Pierce County Superior Court judge ruled in Seeley's favor, but the decision was overturned by the Washington Supreme Court by an 8-1 margin. Following the ruling, two separate ballot initiatives were filed to decriminalize medical marijuana in the state. Both were sponsored by physician Rob Killian. Initiative 685, which

title: Cannabis banking in Washington (state)
text: Cannabis banking in Washington (state) The cannabis industry in the U.S. state of Washington has been served by several banks and credit unions since Initiative 502 passed in 2012, legalizing production, distribution, retail sales and possession in the state. Three banks and two credit unions – Numerica Credit Union in Spokane and Salal Credit Union in Seattle – handle most of the accounts. , the state took in 95% of its cannabis tax revenue through banks (vice cash) and the Washington State Department of Revenue requires electronic funds transfer for tax payment, unless the taxpayer is unable to open a

title: Cannabis in Washington (state)
text: pesticides, poaching animals and leaving behind litter and human waste. Although the state began regulating the cannabis industry in 2014, unlicensed production continued. In 2017, a drug bust organized by multiple counties seized over 33,000 cannabis plants which were suspected to be part of an illegal growing operation run by Chinese nationals. Washington's legal cannabis industry is regulated by the state's Liquor and Cannabis Board (formerly known as the Washington State Liquor Control Board). The state offers separate business licenses to cannabis growers, processors and retailers. Grower and processor licenses can be held simultaneously, but retailers cannot obtain either grower

title: Cannabis in Washington (state)
text: by the Washington State Democratic Party, the mayor and entire city council of Seattle, and the sheriff of King County. National support came from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the NAACP, Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The initiative faced little organized opposition. The most vocal opponents were medical marijuana advocates, who claimed the new DUI provisions were too strict and that recreational dispensaries would hurt the medical marijuana industry. Police groups such as the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs also opposed the initiative, but did little

title: Cannabis in Washington (state)
text: Due in part to a strong harvest of outdoor-grown cannabis in the fall of 2014, supply levels increased and the state's licensed marijuana industry had stabilized by early 2015. By August 2015, the average price had fallen to a low of $8 per gram. During the first 11 months of licensed retail sales, total sales amounted to US$260 million. Sales increased to $486 million in 2015, and $1.1 billion in 2016; sales/excise tax revenue has risen in tandem, increasing from $65 million in 2015FY to $315 million in 2017FY. Retail sales are taxed at 37%, which accounts for the majority

title: Washington Initiative 502
text: but opined that the law is a step in the right direction, even with the provision. At least one NORML blogger labelled them "patients against pragmatism". Some suppliers of medical marijuana are also worried that if the initiative becomes law their thriving businesses could be disrupted. Other opponents included the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. and the Washington Association for Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention. Thurston County Sheriff John Snaza said Asian and motorcycle gangs currently control "marijuana distribution and sales" and that the initiative would likely lead to more traffic fatalities and organized crime. Then-governor Christine Gregoire

title: Cannabis in Washington (state)
text: 2010, the Washington House of Representatives considered two bills regarding cannabis. One would have allowed cannabis sales in state liquor stores, and the other would have decriminalized possession of forty grams or less. Both bills died in committee. Cannabis activists responded by filing Initiative 1068, which would have removed all state-level criminal and civil penalties for cannabis use or possession by adults over the age of 18. Despite an endorsement by the Washington State Democratic Party, the campaign received little fundraising and failed to gather enough signatures to secure a spot on the ballot. The following year, a separate group