Two stores in Vancouver have passed inspection from the Washington Liquor Control Board and could open as soon as July 8.

Both Main Street Marijuana, at 2314 Main St. in uptown, and New Vansterdam, 6515 E Mill Plain Blvd., went through their final inspections on Friday.

Officers from the Liquor Control Board looked at security systems, doors, cameras, quarantine areas and other aspects to make sure they met requirements. They told me both have passed and are waiting for final licensing.

In the remaining time, Main Street Marijuana will finish its flooring and decoration as managers continue to make calls to state growers looking for opening day supplies.

I haven’t yet met with New Vansterdam, but officers said their store design is mostly finished and looks very state-of-the-art.

I’ll have more on them later this week after I get to visit.

The folks at CannaMan Farms have told me they’re talking to New Vansterdam about stocking the product line, although the Vancouver grower may not be able to do its first big harvest until mid to late July.

On July 7, the Liquor Control Board plans to release the first batch of approved sales licenses via email to stores that have passed their inspections. From there, they will have 24 hours until they can open.

I’m not sure why the 24-hour timeframe exists. One of the inspectors I talked to was surprised to hear there was one, but Brain Smith, the head of communications at the Liquor Control Board told me it was so.

Growers and processors have to quarantine product for 24 hours after samples are confirmed for sales by one of the state approved labs. But that quarantine can happen as soon as product is ready. A licensed grower can put product on a 24 hour hold today if they want to – so that shouldn’t affect store openings.

Stores don’t have to quarantine product again after that. Once they get the product, they can sell it, from what I understand. So again, I’m not sure what the 24-hour hold is for. I’ll try to clarify as soon as possible.

I also learned there is a third store up for inspection on July 15. It’s in the unincorporated part of the county, which has a ban on sales, so if the store passes we may see our first lawsuit against the county to remove the ban.

In the meantime, watch for the time on July 7 that the stores get their emails – I know that Main Street Marijuana will push to open as soon as possible after that email. That means we won’t know what time the stores will open on July 8th until July 7th.

That’s where we are so far. If you have questions or thoughts we’d love to hear from you in our comments section.

Cheers,
-SueVo