5 applicants vie for pot licenses

OLYMPIA - The business names and rankings from lotteries for 334 legal marijuana retail licences were announced Friday by the state Liquor Control Board. Moses Lake was the only city in Grant County included in the lottery, with five applicants vying for a retail location.

The state is allowing just two stores in Moses Lake, and while a favorable rank in the lottery doesn't guarantee a license, the top ranked applications in Moses Lake are Mary Jane's, owned by Rick Padilla, which would be located at 801 N. Stratford Rd; and The Green Seed, owned by Amy Dalluge, located at 8420 Aspi Blvd., just off of Patton Boulevard. Both applicants must pass a background check and financial investigation and meet other requirements before any licenses are issued, according to the Liquor Control Board.

Other applicants in Moses Lake include Brian Lynch and David Ufkes, who applied for locations on West Marina Drive and Kittleson Road, and Silvia Estrada, owner of Dos Tesoros Smoke Shop, who applied for a retail location on Wheeler Road Northeast.

More than 2,000 people initially applied for licenses the state planned to issue under the recreational pot law adopted by voters in 2012. The board began pre-screening applicants in February, and of that number, 1,174 applicants were included in the lottery in 75 jurisdictions in the state. Forty-seven jurisdictions did not require license lotteries, including Adams and Grant counties at large, Ephrata and Quincy. Grant County was allotted seven retail locations, including three at large, one in Ephrata, one in Quincy and two in Moses Lake.

The lottery was conducted by an independent auditor in conjunction with Washington State University. All retail applicants who successfully completed the pre-screening process were eligible for the lottery.

The Liquor Control Board expects to begin issuing retail licenses no later than the first week in July.