UPDATE: 2 West Seattle marijuana biznotes

ORIGINAL REPORT, 12:28 PM: Notes today on the first two recreational-marijuana stores licensed in West Seattle:

NEW LOCATION FOR ORIGINS? We reported back in March about the opening of the first West Seattle recreational-marijuana store, Origins at 1416 SW Roxbury. According to a filing with the State Liquor and Cannabis Board, Origins is now looking to move into the heart of West Seattle – The Junction. It’s asking the licensing board for permission to relocate to 4800 40th SW, a building on the southeast corner of 40th/Edmunds that’s had two early-stage development proposals in the past two years and also currently houses a fitness business. We have a request out for comment but have yet to hear back.

NAME CHOSEN: Origins was the second West Seattle marijuana store to be licensed, but the first to open. Now there’s a name for the first one to receive its license – 5440 California SW will be Canna West Seattle, according to its website. It’s been six months since we reported on the licensing of this shop, but we don’t know yet when it’ll open – we’re awaiting a reply here too.

ADDED 7:45 PM: We’ve heard back from Canna:

… It took a very long time for the city to permit the project. We finally got the permits last week and plan to begin renovations ASAP.

The project will take several weeks, so we will be temporarily opening in the space across the street at 5435 California Ave SW (previously Alternative Medicine Collective), which will eventually be the Canna Glass and Accessories Shop. We plan to be open at this location in four to five weeks.

(AMC was a medical-marijuana dispensary; the dispensaries that did not get recreational licenses had to close by July 1st, and that’s led to a few other vacant storefronts in West Seattle, including two at 35th and Roxbury.)

Erithan August 22, 2016 (1:14 pm)

Lovely…I’m all for legalization and access, but this is worrisome as a junction resident. There are so many issues with bars, drunks, rude employees and yes merh users already. Being near the only major parking lot it’s rare( more so with this heat) to be able to have a queue few hours at night, or a time without smoke floating into my windows.

I really hope this place makes the laws clear so I and others don’t wind up with 24/7 pot stench on top of cigs because people seem to enjoy being oblivious to the large amount of people living here.

Would also love love to see even 1 cop here at peak times(people are racing constantly as well) being 11pm – 3am, many have asked, and we keep getting told they can’t if they don’t know when, despite the fact we can pin down a time frame for the worst.

Instead at least here, we continue to suffer, polite requests for people to quite down are met with swearing and insults in this case toward all elderly and disabled persons. *sigh* I wish I knew who to talk to about maybe some signs in the lot area by the building… Sorry this is long, it’s frustrating, especially with lack of sleep due to….

DarkHawke August 22, 2016 (1:45 pm)

So at no time during the whole pot “legalization” debate did it occur to you that what you now dread could happen? Given the massive problems we already have with the most prevalent legal intoxicant (alcohol) and the lax attitude by local politicos to the depredations of the illegal trade, “legal” pot shops attracting and metastasizing an even greater level of scum wasn’t merely a logical conclusion, it was inevitable.
- Joe Dirt August 22, 2016 (2:14 pm)
  
  Yup
- Skeptical August 22, 2016 (2:47 pm)
  
  “‘legal’ ot shops attracting and metastasizing an even greater level of scum…”
  
  Nope. Back that up with actual facts, buddy. Your blanket demonization of people engaged in legal activity is abusrd, denigrating, and 100% false.
Joe Dirt August 22, 2016 (2:19 pm)

I’ve had the same problems with police and mj users. Users hear that it’s legal but don’t hear anything else like you have to be 21+, can’t smoke in public, etc. Police don’t have enough officers or consider pot and the consequences as a low priority.

Good luck.
Skeptical August 22, 2016 (2:44 pm)

I used to live above the alley between 42nd and California, too, and the worst I experienced was the garbage trucks. I’ll consider your story well salted.

Erithan August 22, 2016 (1:18 pm)

Er that should read “quiet” not qued

msandhawks August 22, 2016 (2:18 pm)

As a lifelong seattle resident, this is awful news, along with a 3-day weekend of the annual hempfest making traffic even worse. how can either provide any good for seattle?

Jonathan August 22, 2016 (3:12 pm)

Take a look at all of the good it has already done for Denver – Seattle is getting the same benefits! Taxes up for schools, homeless services, etc.

More importantly, underage use is down significantly: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/colorado-s-teen-marijuana-usage-dips-after-legalization/

If you want something to complain about, at least do your research first.
- Jonathan August 22, 2016 (3:20 pm)
  
  Circling back to the importance of facts… in 2014, the most recent year data was available, Hempfest patrons spent
  approximately $7.1 million in King County in relation to their visits to
  the festival. Volunteers and musicians were estimated to have spent
  $0.226 million in relation to their participation in the festival in
  King County, while Seattle HEMPFEST™ Festival exhibitors and food
  vendors are estimated to have had expenses of $1.8 in relation to
  participation in the festival in King County. In addition, Seattle
  HEMPFEST™ Festival organizers incurred costs of $0.924 million, of which
  $0.744 million were made in King County. http://www.hempfest.org/about/2014-economic-impact-study/

Wes C. Addle August 22, 2016 (2:48 pm)

This is a retail store and not a cannabis club. People aren’t going to walk out of the store and stay there and light up. They’ll be removed per existing guidelines. Living in a busy area such as the West Seattle Junction the noise, bars, rude employees as you say are not going anywhere. That’s part of what makes the scene vibrant. The racers on the other hand are super annoying. They go up and down Cali ave all night. And @darkhawke the people at the Cannabis store are far different than the crowd you’ll see at a dive bar for example. Most people I see at the store are the normal run of the mill crowd that I see in the office all day long. The buy their goods and go home. Maybe we need a couple of more stores?

Jonathan August 22, 2016 (3:15 pm)

Agreed! Bringing a couple more retail stores to the West Seattle area would be great for the community. They bring jobs, clean up neighborhoods and contribute major tax $$. If that other poster has problems with smoke, noise and bars, perhaps the Junction wasn’t the right place to call home. Noise, cigarette smokers and bars are a part of living in the City – I doubt all of that started after you moved in.

AMD August 22, 2016 (2:57 pm)

Origins has been a great neighbor (it’s on 15th by the way, not 14th). They keep their property clean (as well as the neighboring bus stop) and don’t have any of the things you mentioned (wafts of pot smoke smell, etc.). The owner really cares about being an asset to the neighborhood rather than a nuisance, so much so that I’m genuinely bummed that he’s moving away.

WSB August 22, 2016 (3:12 pm)

Sorry, its official address is in the 1400 block of Rox and I have made that mistake before, will just correct to the official address.

PSPS August 22, 2016 (5:22 pm)

What a bunch of uninformed and ridiculous opinions! If you’ve ever been to a rec pot shop, you’d see for yourself that there are no “rowdies,” no on or near-premises smoking. The stores themselves operate under very strict guidelines and are all monitored continuously 24 hours a day by surveillance cameras located both inside and outside the stores. While liquor is well known for making people belligerent, pot just doesn’t do that. About the only thing missing from these nonsensical comments is “Get off my lawn.”

WSince86 August 22, 2016 (5:56 pm)

PSPS and AMD, I absolutely concur. Customers ARE the run of the mill citizens who must show ID at the door of any recreational MJ store. I also would be much more concerned with the level of alcohol consumption in the junction not the pot.

Joe Szilagyi August 22, 2016 (6:21 pm)

Y’all need to break your Reefer Madness VHS tapes.

Meyer August 22, 2016 (7:42 pm)

I’m always confused by people’s hostile views towards marijuana shops. I believe some people are unfairly grouping marijuana users with drunks or hard drug users. There is a huge difference between those groups. One group is loud, stays up late and causes property damage the other eats Doritos while watching the Discovery channel. If you go inside a recreational store you will see people of all backgrounds, ages and social economic status – from elderly disabled people to young artists and none of them give the slightest hint of being a public nuisance.

I for one am excited for a new West Seattle business to show up and to bring the drugs off the street and into a controlled environment where it can be taxed and regulated.

WSB August 22, 2016 (7:44 pm)

I did just get an update from Canna regarding their status and will be adding it to the story within a few minutes – Tracy

JC August 22, 2016 (8:10 pm)

Origins has been an awesome neighbor!! I wish they would stay! They cleaned up a boring bldg. and made into a lovely addition to the neighborhood. I used to not walk on that block, but now its great. Very sad to lose such a nice business.

A retail cannabis store is a great addition to any neighborhood. Patrons have money to spend at neighboring businesses, too- buy a couple items at the pot shop, get a pizza, some ice cream. I don’t understand the demonization. It’s an herb, that if people use it, they feel pleasant and mellow. It shouldn’t be illegal in the first place.

I’d rather live next door to a cannabis store than a convenience store, or a bar- any day of the week.

Pam August 22, 2016 (8:15 pm)

You should visit a marijuana store before passing judgement. If Ganja Goddess on First Avenue near Spokane Street is any example I welcome the new store to West Seattle. You must show identification to get in, no loitering, the store is clean. Employees are educated and helpful when explaining the products that are available. Even if you are not in the market to purchase I think you would be reassured if you went and asked questions.

Michele JA August 22, 2016 (8:23 pm)

So what is Bud-Nation considered then? And for the naysayers, I feel safer inside Bud-Nation then actually walking in White Center!

Asher August 22, 2016 (9:26 pm)

Pot stores in Seattle has always been for me a civil, respectdul experience with merchants ashering to strict guidelines and ID always checked immediately upon entering. Many of the city’s most industrious and brilliant citizens are regular pot users.The FBI is seeking to lift restrictions on employing pot users because so many genius computer hackers toke regularly.

USA-1 August 22, 2016 (9:51 pm)

I’m not a fan of marijuana, but its effects pale in comparison to those of cigarettes (or as I call them, Darwin sticks), which of course are legal and available for sale everywhere (makes sense, right?). Weed smoke slightly irritates me because I don’t care for the smell, but cigarette smoke makes me physically angry. It’s the total selfish disregard of the brain-dead moron smoking the cigarette for the health of the people around him/her that angers me the most. I tell you what, if this pot shop even just slightly upsets even just one cigarette smoker for any reason, it has my full support.

JanS August 22, 2016 (10:10 pm)

sitting here laughing. I am 69 years old. I will be checking the place out when it opens. I recently had a fainting episode that caused a bit of damage…broken jaw, bruising, severe knee/leg damage. And products like high CBD tinctures, and creams and other things helped me heal, helped me deal with the pain after the limited number of opiods ran out. I was surprised how much better I felt using the MJ products as opposed to legally prescribed drugs for pain. Laughing here at the portrayal of being a “certain level of scum”…This grandma is amused !

Now…if the traffic from Hempfest bothers you, don’t go hang out around there. There is more than one was to get where you are going, and that traffic does not impact West Seattle in any way…you’re just blowing smoke – lol…

Jon August 22, 2016 (10:54 pm)

I agree with you, Grandma! There are lots of pot-based products which are fantastic for medical applications (or just plain fun for someone who is legally allowed to enjoy other “controlled substances”). Pot is especially great for chronic pain sufferers and for people who deal with anxiety. It’s cheaper and safer than most opioids and doesn’t lead to addiction (although, the DEA’s hilarious classification would disagree — with years of scientific research proving otherwise).

I’ll take a stoner walking around and having the time of their life over a drunk motorcyclist / drag racer or cigarette smoker puffing in my face at the bus stop any day. Instead of getting cancer from their smoke, getting run over, or getting into a fight, worst case: I’ll have to share my snacks and talk about movies or tell jokes — the horror!

If you see someone breaking laws, by all means, report it. There are plenty of idiots who smoke (and drink) while driving. But the benefits of marijuana legalization vastly outweigh the cons.

brian August 23, 2016 (4:26 pm)

Can’t wait for Amazon Prime 2hr delivery.

Erithan August 23, 2016 (6:45 pm)

Cripes I knew the post was ranty , but as to just moving, i would if there were more affordable housing! My entire building is elderly and disabled…. I also have nothing against the shop, as to rude employees, these are specific people that literally harrras and be loud late night early am, whispering to their buddies about wait any sec Somone is gonna say something and laughing it up when a polite request to quiet down is called out.

laughing followed by calling us various swear words etc.

apparently my wording failed me, which in part is due to heat, and lack of sleep… Again I am not against the shop nor the pot, and other matters as I mentioned were a bit of s rant, I said employees as I did not want to name the specific resteraunt.

Erithan August 23, 2016 (6:56 pm)

Forgot to add, I am also a more recent edible client at ganja goddess, seeking aid for sleep/anxiety over medications.

again as noted some was very much so a rant induced by the frustrations I’m forced to deal with currently on top of the heat. I apologize things were so badly worded as to construed certain responses…

willbehonest August 23, 2016 (9:12 pm)

LOVE this! Can’t wait to visit and buy, buy, buy!!! :D :D :D

Amanda August 25, 2016 (9:24 am)

Does anyone know what’s happening the stores at 35th & Roxbury? I know they had to close since they were medical dispensaries, but though they were reopening as rec stores.

WSB August 25, 2016 (10:30 am)

NWPRC applied for a license; don’t know about the generic place across the street – I don’t recall seeing it on the WALCB license application list, which I check daily. However, the city had maxed out before NWPRC received one, as I understand it. They were hoping for a ruling on a related lawsuit but I don’t know if that’s still in the works.

Question Mark August 26, 2016 (12:24 pm)

West Seattle residents have far fewer stores per capita than Seattle has seen licensed overall. If there were an equal distribution around the city, West Seattle would have six or seven stores instead of 2. Just south of West Seattle, White Center (part of unincorporated King County) has seen 9 stores licensed.

It’s ironic that Dow Constantine, a West Seattle resident, recently responded to concerns that marijuana stores are over-concentrated in White Center by saying the county’s priorities in setting priorities for regulating retail marijuana stores included minimizing disproportionate siting and neighborhood impacts, and avoiding siting of multiple businesses in close proximity to one another.

With 14 of 17 retail marijuana stores in unincorporated King County located in just two of its far-flung communities–White Center and Skyway–as a result of King County policy, it really begs the question how honest the county is being with itself about its own measures of fairness …

Question Mark August 31, 2016 (9:41 am)

Origins also has a medically endorsed location licensed at 9823 15th Avenue SW in White Center, just south of its Seattle location on Roxbury. That location has not yet opened for business so far as I know.

I suppose if the move to a more central West Seattle location is approved, we’ll see both stores open for business …