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State delays pot grower, processor licenses

Washington state is delaying its timeline for granting marijuana growing and processing licenses — and that means legal marijuana sales likely won't begin before next spring.

Liquor Control Board spokesman Brian Smith says that rather than issue growing licenses this summer and processor licenses this fall, it will issue all licenses Dec. 1. That means the growers won't be able to get to work until December, and the final product won't be ready for a couple months after that.

Washington joined Colorado last fall in becoming the first states to legalize marijuana for adults over 21, and to allow the sale of taxed pot at state-licensed stores. Washington's Liquor Control Board has been devising rules for the industry.

Smith says the decision will help growers because they'll have a better picture of the business landscape before they begin growing.

 

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