The post Washington City’s First Weed Dispensary Forced To Close appeared first on High Times.
In Tacoma, Washington, a weed dispensary forced to close for failing to pay back taxes has historical meaning for the local cannabis scene. Rainier on Pine was Tacoma’s first fully operational legal weed store. But the dispensary lost its license yesterday. As a result, Tacoma’s first-ever weed dispensary has now been shut down.
Unpaid Taxes
According to local media, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) revoked the dispensary’s license yesterday at noon. The move was the conclusion of an ongoing tax drama.
Reports show that between August 2014 and November 2017, Rainier on Pine sold $13.1 million worth of cannabis products. Under Washington’s tax laws, that equates to around $4.7 million in excise taxes. But apparently, the owners of the shop did not make full tax payments.
In fact, LCB officials said that starting in 2016 Rainier on Pine was delinquent on $768,000 of taxes. Since then, that number has spiked even higher. When the LCB shut down Rainier on Pine yesterday, the shop reportedly owed the state $1.4 million in taxes.
The LCB tried to deny the shop its license last March. Then, in October 2017, the agency was granted a judgment against the dispensary. Finally, on January 4, the full LCB board adopted the judgment and the shop’s fate was sealed.
“They’ve had several opportunities to become current on their taxes,” said LCB spokesperson Mikhail Carpenter. He also claimed the LCB had tried helping the shop get up to date on its taxes so it could remain open. “In this particular case, even after several attempts to do so, they were still delinquent in tax payments by