State cuts marijuana production licenses, limits size of pot farms

State regulators have decided on two strategies to control the amount of legal marijuana grown in Washington; limiting production licenses and reducing the size of pot farms.

The State Liquor Control Board voted unanimously Wednesday to restrict licenses for production facilities to one per applicant. The board also decided to restrict production to 70-percent of a facility’s licensed capacity.

Initial rules called for a maximum of three licenses per applicant.

“That would have resulted in about 35 million square feet of canopy grow and our initial estimate was that we needed about two million square feet of canopy grow,” said Randy Simmons, with the State Liquor Control Board.

Regulators believe that numerous uncertainties make it difficult to predict the proper level of supply to meet demand.

“Who’s going to survive this marketplace, who’s going to get a license, how much of the product will meet the quality assurance testing” are among the questions, according to Simmons. “So until we get into the marketplace, we need to have a more manageable number that we’re working with.”

Some cities have placed moratoriums on marijuana-related businesses. Simmons says the board decided to issue licenses to applicants, even if they plan to locate in those areas.

“We don’t know if the bans are going to last so we are going to go ahead and license those people,” said Simmons.

Production licenses should be issued by March 1.

The board is still working on rules for a lottery to decide who gets licenses for the retail sale of recreational marijuana. It’s expected the first retail stores will open by June.