11 years after WA voters legalized cannabis, two Pasco stores will open within days
Cannabis fans will be able to legally purchase pot at two shops in Pasco next week after both passed recent state inspections.
Green2Go Recreational, led by Steve Lee, and Lucky Leaf, led by David Morgan, are waiting for the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Control Board to activate their licenses.
It’s the last step before they are allowed to stock inventory and begin selling to customers ages 21 and older. A spokeswoman for the state agency confirmed to the Herald that is imminent.
Legal pot arrives in Pasco about 11 years after Washington voters approved Initiative 502, which decriminalized possession of small amounts of cannabis.
In the Tri-Cities, where the initiative was unpopular, adoption was slow.
Franklin County along with the cities of Kennewick, Pasco, Richland and West Richland enacted local bans. That left unincorporated Benton County as the only place pot shops could legally operate.
Benton County later banned new stores but it did not apply to the ones already open in Finley, near Prosser and on the outskirts of West Richland.
First to drop pot ban
Pasco is the first of the Tri-Cities to drop its ban, with the city council voting 4-3 in June. Green2Go and Lucky Leaf confirmed in August they had secured retail locations that meet the state’s buffer requirements.
West Richland is scheduled on Nov. 7 to discuss potentially lifting its ban. A vote on the issue couldn’t happen until the following council meeting.
Richland rejected a citizen-led initiative calling for a public vote on legalized pot sales in 2018, saying the initiative was not valid. More than 4,500 signed the Legalize Richland petition.
In Pasco, three cannabis retailers have applied to open shops. Green2Go and Lucky Leaf appear to be the only ones ready to meet a Dec. 12 deadline to open or lose their state licenses.
Green2Go will open in a temporary space on Road 90 near Sandifur Parkway. Morgan expects to open Lucky Leaf on Road 68 and is making plans for a grand opening on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31.
A third business, Clear Mind Cannabis, has applied to open a shop at 3221 W. Court St., but could not be reached for an update on its plans. The state limits Pasco to four retail licenses based on its population.
Lee and Morgan said they’re both eager to open and aren’t competing to be the first.
Lucky Leaf
Lucky Leaf will be at 3501 Road 68, Suites 104 and 105.
Morgan is a Tri-Cities native who originally applied for a license to open a store in Pasco in December 2013, when Initiative 502 was taking effect. In 2015, he opened anyway, operating for two weeks before he was ordered to shut down.
After that episode, state regulators allowed him to transfer his license to Spokane. The Road 68 store will be the second version of Lucky Leaf. He is taking over space formerly occupied by Columbia Physical Therapy. The space underwent a major renovation with assistance from Morgan’s brother, a contractor.
Morgan said Mustang Signs is fabricating and installing signs for the business.
He said the store will be an open format and will sell cannabis, edibles and beverages, concentrates, vape cartridges, disposable vapes and prerolls (also known as joints).
Customers will be able to make purchases online or in the store, but must go into the store and show a valid ID that confirms they are 21 or older in order to collect their purchases. Business hours are the longest allowed under state law: 8 a.m.-11:55 p.m. The closing time is a nod to rules that all sales must be complete by midnight.
Follow Lucky Leaf at luckyleaf.co
Green2Go
Green2Go will be at 5904 Road 90, Suite J.
Steve Lee and his wife, Jessie, own the Green2Go Recreational cannabis shops in Finley, which is in unincorporated Benton County, and in Tokio, east of Ritzville, where Highway 395 merges with I 90.
The Lees also operated Green2Go Wellness, which sold CBD products in Kennewick until it closed during the pandemic.
Green2Go secured its license eight years ago anticipating that Pasco would eventually repeal its ban on recreational cannabis. The purple door and window frame is still in place. But the 3,300-square-foot store is only temporary.
Steve Lee plans to move the business to a larger suite in the same complex in 2024 when the current fitness business moves out.
“We built this out just to save the license,” he said of the temporary digs.
Lee, who served a term on the Kennewick City Council and now lives in Richland, embraces a clean, welcoming vibe — where moms, grandmothers and stepdads feel comfortable.
Lee expected to finalize the build out on Wednesday and to open sometime in early November. The Pasco store hours are 8 a.m.-11 p.m. Service is limited to medical users and seniors for the first hour.
Follow green2go on Facebook at bit.ly/3MhmPgw or and at G2GRec.com
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