This is an ordinary shot of a farmer at work, but it’s not an entirely ordinary scene. This is a view of one side of the North Olympic Peninsula’s first licensed marijuana growing operation. You’re not looking at the growing shed. It’s nestled and protected inside a barn on the other side of the property, seeded with 20 motion-activated infrared cameras. But as of last Tuesday it was one of nine growers approved in Washington state and one of the first obvious and tangible steps toward the state’s legal recreational pot. The state has moved forward since voters approved a measure to decriminalize marijuana, doing what states do: figuring out standards, hiring a drug czar, organizing regulations. And they’re trying to figure out new and different challenges. Growers and sellers will have to pay state taxes; however, banks have regulations against taking drug money. How to handle that? And the new growers? They, of course, need seeds for their crops. Now that they have their permits they have 15 days to get seed stock wherever they can. After that they can only get it from state sanctioned suppliers, which, by the way, don’t exist yet. Sales of the new crops are expected to begin in early July with as yet unnamed sellers. It should be interesting to see how those operations unfold. And, assuming vendors are selling Washington pot, I can only imagine how this year’s Lavender Faire and Festival will unfold in July with a new, uhm, perspective. We do, after all, have at least one operation that’s probably ready for the challenge: Purple Haze Lavender Farm.
