Liquor Control Board Approves Lottery Process for Retail Marijuana Stores
On April 2, 2014, The Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) approved a lottery that will select apparent successful applicants for marijuana retail licenses. The independent, double-blind process will take place April 21-25, 2014, and will produce an ordered list of applicants that the agency will use to continue its retail licensing process.
Being identified as an apparent successful applicant is not a guarantee that the selected applicant will receive a license.
The WSLCB began pre-qualifying applicants for the lottery the weekend of Feb. 21-23, 2014. Applicants had 30 days to return the basic documents necessary to be eligible for the lottery including verification of: their personal criminal history, their age being 21 or older, that they are Washington State residents, that their business was formed in Washington State, and that they have a location address with a right to real property.
The WSLCB is expected to post the ordered list of applicants for each jurisdiction in the public records section of the agency website on May 2, 2014. The agency expects to begin issuing retail licenses no later than the first week of July.
