The emerging Washington industry that loves Black Friday

Black Friday means hot deals for many people, but for one Washington industry, it means a whole lot of green in one day.

“Black Friday is coming up and I think this year is going to be the first year that pot really sells, with taxes, far far below what the elicit market was charging,” Ian Eisenberg, managing owner of Uncle Ike’s in Seattle, said ahead of the shopping day.

Related: Seattle City Council agrees to more modest pot fee hike

“I find it fascinating that a fee market, capitalistic system with 46 percent taxes on top of it can produce and sell a product much cheaper than the old illicit market,” he said.

Uncle Ike’s is arguably Seattle’s most successful pot shop and has expanded to three locations since recreational marijuana was legalized.

Unlike other Black Friday shopping, shoppers have to buy marijuana for themselves. It is illegal to gift marijuana in Washington state. But that doesn’t stop shops like Uncle Ike’s from advertising for Black Friday deals. It’s a day of big business for the Seattle-based pot shop.

“The outdoor harvest came in last fall, and it’s just coming into the stores,” Eisenberg said, noting that marijuana-related items also are big sellers.

“It’s the same as with alcohol. If you buy a bunch of wine, you might buy some new wine glasses,” he said. “But there’s a lot more variety with cannabis. There are vaporizers and different types of pipes, in Seattle especially. Seattle has such an industry of glass blowing, with Chihuly, and schools and museums that a lot of those glass blowers are blowing some of the most amazing glassware for cannabis consumption in the world. It’s amazing.”

Eisenberg said that prices for marijuana have also started to come down as sales in the state skyrocket — with “door buster” sales going for $49 and $69 at his shop.

“That is so far below what the legal market used to be, with a 46 percent tax built into that price,” he said. “That just shows you the free market is so much more efficient than anything else.”

Washington industry and marijuana

The Washington industry for marijuana has been a boon for entrepreneurs such as Eisenberg.

According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, Seattle is the top pot selling city in the state, taking in $114.5 million, and paying $38.8 million in taxes during the first couple years since it was legalized. Uncle Ike’s is the city’s top seller, earning $25.5 million during that same time.

The state’s top-selling shop, however, has been Main Street Marijuana in Vancouver — it took in $28.6 million. Vancouver is the state’s second most successful marijuana-selling city with $67.6 million in revenue, paying $22.2 million in taxes. Tacoma is third with $54.6 million in revenue and paying $18.6 million in taxes. Spokane comes in fourth with $48.6 million in revenue and paying $16.5 million in taxes.

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