WA Retail Shops Cited for Sales to Minors

Enforcing adult-use cannabis in much of the same way that it addresses alcohol, the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) has conducted its first complete round compliance checks and cited 18 out of 157 retail cannabis locations in operation across the state, for selling marijuana to minors. The check shows 88 percent of the businesses that encountered an undercover minor in compliance with Washington’s retail cannabis laws.

“Our goal is 100 percent compliance,” said WSLCB Board Chair Jane Rushford. “While perfect compliance is always a challenging goal, it is clearly in everyone’s interest that our licensees be vigilant about preventing underage sales.”

Local authorizes joined representatives of the WSLCB in conducting checks at all 157 open retail cannabis locations throughout the state from mid-May until the end of June. This was the first full series of checks to take place since recreational sales began in the state on July 8, 2014.

In order to conduct the operation, minors between the ages of 18 to 20 were sent into the stores to purchase cannabis. According to the WSLCB, they must either present their true ID or none at all if questioned by a clerk. Of those businesses now facing a 10-day suspension or a $2,500 fine, one shop – Purple Haze in Everett – faces harsher penalties for selling cannabis to a minor on two occasions.
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