The state of Washington approved rules on Wednesday that outlined the sale of recreational marijuana, initiating what supporters hope will be the platform for legalizing pot worldwide.
According to the Seattle lawyer who wrote the draft, Alison Holcomb, who spoke with the Associated Press, Mexico, Uruguay, Poland and a handful of other countries and states are currently considering the new regulations, which include details on how many marijuana dispensaries can open for business and the size of gardens.
Washington will put high taxes on marijuana sales, which come with a 80 metric ton limit on total production. The state expects to start moving sales by the middle of 2014, the Associated Press reported.
"We feel very proud of what we're doing," said chairwoman of the Washington Liquor Control Board Sharon Foster, who gave the green light on the rules with two other colleagues. "We are making history."
Washington and Colorado legalized the use of recreational marijuana last year, allowing adults over 21 years old to possess up to an ounce of weed while allowing voters to outline the procedure for growers, producers and vendors of the drug. The states anticipated a challenging road on writing the rules of an entire industry that has been banned by federal legislation since the 1930s.
The Liquor Control Board in Washington was tasked with arranging the regulations, which required a year's worth of research, debate and planning. Hundreds of people from around the state gathered at public hearings to weigh in.
"It's a huge undertaking, and the board has been extremely fair," Seattle lawyer Hilary Bricken said, adding that her clients are, for the most part, satisfied with the rules, but some have expressed their displeasure with bans on a three-license cap and the bar on out-of-state cash.
The regulations will allow 334 marijuana stores across the state of Washington. 21 of them will be in Seattle.
Those that support the legalization hope that it will bring the state anywhere between ten and a few hundred million dollars - that money will go toward public health and drug-abuse prevention programs, the Associated Press reported. Washington board members are trying to find middle ground, where marijuana is available enough that legal weed would surpass marijuana sold on the black market, but not so freely distributed that it would negatively affect public health or safety.
Meanwhile, in Colorado, the sale of recreational and medical marijuana will require seed-to-store tracking, background checks for license applicants and child-proof packaging, according to the Associated Press.
