The first recreational marijuana store in Clark County could open on Main Street in Vancouver in about two weeks.
The store, Main Street Marijuana, came in first in the Washington State Liquor Control Board lottery for retailers in Vancouver. The business expects to receive final inspections from the board by the end of the month, said Ramsey Hamide, a manager.
“We’re planning on opening the first (of July) or the eighth, depending on the process for the first batch of stores,” Hamide said. “The eighth is probably more likely.”
The board plans to permit stores around the state to open in groups on those dates, he said.
Main Street Marijuana has been rapidly remodeling what had been the location of Pacific Jewelers.
The store won the lottery under the name of Mary Jane & Friends and is owned by Reid Eickhorst.
Employees have been replacing carpet, painting and installing the security system.
“There’s a million little things we’re dealing with as far as the license and getting the business ready,” Hamide said. “Product, though, is probably the biggest issue right now.”
At least one other store in a more eastern part of the city is also planning for a July opening, but owners weren’t yet ready to go on the record.
Products may be hard to come by for the first group of stores.
To date only one marijuana producer, CannaMan Farms, has been licensed in Vancouver.
That probably means prices will be a little high to start, but Hamide said the company will do what it can to offset them by offering special deals on glassware or other items.
“It will probably be around $20 to $25 a gram to start,” Hamide said. “Then maybe $15 to $20 the first few months and hopefully down to $12 or $15 ongoing. Right now we’re trying to get as much stock as we can.”
The company so far has no website, public phone number or social media set-up, said Adam Hamide, Ramsey’s brother, who will also be a manager at the store.
“We’re basically just trying to do a million things at once,” Adam Hamide said, adding that some of the regulations on marketing and advertising are strict.
They hope to provide more information for the public soon, the brothers said.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how all this progresses,” Adam Hamide said.
