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The Reef, pre-bollards (Image: CHS)
This July will mark a decade since the first recreational pot shops opened in Seattle so Saturday will brings the 10th “4/20” of legal cannabis in Washington.
Whoa.
If you are high enough to get lost in that math, enjoy. For the rest of you, the city’s cannabis retailers will surely be rolling out sales and promotions to help you celebrate.
Capitol Hill’s first pot shop didn’t debut until late in 2015 as tiny Ruckus “defiantly” opened just off 15th Ave E. Its tit for tat tussle with the larger Uncle Ike’s chain’s efforts on Capitol Hill is now the stuff of cannabis legend.
After 10 years Ruckus is still there and the Hill’s clusters of shops have grown to include two Ike’s locations and a new cluster of shops on E Olive Way including The Reef.
Even if you do not partake, you should care about the industry. Washington cannabis sales reached above $1 billion again in 2023. Sales are subject to a hefty 37% excise tax used to fund state Department of Health programs, other state programs, and industry regulation.
The resulting windfall is now a powerhouse in Olympia funding (PDF) — far eclipsing revenue generated by alcohol sales.
Seattle’s pot industry is reaching a few inflection points, some more satisfying than others.
CHS reported here earlier this week on the extremely limited impact in neighborhoods like the Central District and Capitol Hill under the state’s “social equity” efforts to better open the industry to communities impacted by the “war on drugs.”
Meanwhile, there could finally be progress on solving a drag on the industry that has challenged the shops with dangerous robberies and damaging break-ins including this October smash and grab at Capitol Hill’s The Reef involving what has become a textbook pot shop break-in — a group of thieves smashed a Kia into the front and burglarized the store.
While a pair of bollards now protect The Reef’s front doors, federal officials could finally put banking changes in place that would end the dangerous days for the stores as cash-only businesses. The Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act has been debated and punted repeatedly in recent years but could finally be approved in Washington D.C. this year.
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