Pot industry growing in North Central Washington

WENATCHEE – The whirlwind first nine months of the state’s legal recreational marijuana business has yielded a handful of North Central Washington sellers, growers and processors who are already among the state’s top sellers.

But even their short time in business has been long enough to get a glimpse of the future if they remain subject to double taxation, unregulated competition from the state’s medical marijuana dispensaries, a dearth of licensed pot retailers and big swings in the supply chain.

“The entire market is growing leaps and bounds,” said Casey Davison, spokesman for Green Life Cannabis, a recreational marijuana store in Wenatchee’s Olds Station area. “We’ve had to adapt. Every week is something different. Prices have come down.”

These fledgling companies accounted for about $4.76 million of total statewide recreational cannabis sales of $70.8 million through mid-January from about 250 licensed businesses that recorded income.

I-502-spawned “cannabusinesses” are on the hook for $17.7 million in new tax contributions to the state, not including more than $1.5 million in sales tax on retail sales. State sales tax totals for the industry area are through October.