With $70 million in state tax revenue, “Pot money changing hearts in Washington”

The title of this post is drawn from the headline of this new CNN article.  Here are excerpts from an article that does not quite match the headline but captures the important reality of modern changing sentiments:

This week marks the one-year anniversary since sales of marijuana for recreational use began in Washington state. In the first year, $70 million in tax revenue has been generated statewide from marijuana sales. The Washington State Liquor Control Board, which oversees the state’s cannabis industry, reports that dispensaries sold more than $257 million worth of marijuana.

Chip Boyden, who owns a medical marijuana dispensary in Tucson, Arizona, jumped at the thought of expanding his marijuana business with family in Washington after the first dispensaries started to open in July 2014. Washington voters passed a law in 2012 to legalize marijuana for adults over 21. When Boyden first opened his shop in Tucson, he said the attitude from the surrounding community was less than supportive, although the state permits medical marijuana usage. “We had people come up and say they aren’t against it, but they were unsure who was going to be the demographic for our business,” he said.

But in Seattle, Boyden said he noticed a difference in attitude at Hashtag recreational cannabis, a pot shop that Boyden started in April with co-owner Logan Bowers and shop manager Michael Bowers. “We had great support. We didn’t have anyone come in a get upset,” Logan Bowers said.

Boyden said there’s a cultural shift happening in Washington, Colorado and other states that have started to legalize marijuana use. “The recreational market allows people, those who were interested in trying cannabis, to be able to come in and sample different flavors,” he explained. “It’s more like going into the store and buying a bottle of wine.”…

Kris Krane, president of 4Front Ventures, which provides consulting and support for marijuana dispensaries across the United States, said that marijuana legalization and sales will start to become a larger political discussion. “I think 2016 is the year where this is actually an issue in presidential policy that candidates have to answer to,” he said.

As for Washington state’s first year of marijuana sales, Krane said $70 million in tax revenue actually seems a bit low. “It’s important to know that number is not indicative of what we will see in year two or three.” He is predicting that those numbers will increase, especially if the excise tax is lowered in the state.

But for dispensary owners and operators Logan Bowers and Michael Bowers, it’s not the money that’s drawing them into the business. Rather, it is the change in attitude they are seeing. “One thing that struck me most as a manager, is the wide variety of people who come in,” Michael Bowers said. “We see older customers bring in their adult children. It’s normal people using it. It’s everyday people in your neighborhood.”