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US (WA): Smaller operation hope to benefit from Liquor and Cannabis Board proposal

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board is seeking to allow smaller cannabis growers to increase their size, along with proposing legislation to also help patients, and protected classes within the industry. Washington’s cannabis producers are divided into three categories, which each can cultivate up to a maximum square footage: Tier 1, up to 2,000 square feet; Tier 2, up to 10,000 square feet; and Tier 3, up to 30,000 square feet. As of October, there were currently 190 Tier 1, 488 Tier 2, and 426 Tier 3 producers.

When Initiative 502 passed in 2012, the LCB opened a 30-day window for applications. It received thousands. “It was a gold rush mentality, a lot people jumping into the market and suddenly being regulated,” said Brian Smith, a spokesman for the LCB. “For some people, it’s working. A Tier 1 is a manageable potential size for some growers because there is far less capital outlay.”

But many Tier 1 growers have complained the canopy size was always too small to sustain their businesses. Since 2012, 30 Tier 1 businesses have closed, compared to 58 and 41 at the Tier 2 and Tier 3 levels, respectively. The closure rate in Washington is less than Colorado, which saw 50 percent of its applicants close within the first 18 months, Smith said. “Ours has not been at that level at all.”

Smith said the current LCB effort would allow Tier 1 producers who are growing at capacity to increase their canopy.

Read more at spokesman.com

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