State regulators opened a new window for I-502 license applications this week, and unlike the first application round and lottery, there’s no set cap on the number of licenses they can issue. In theory, it sets up the possibility for Seattle to add more retail shops — including the next chapter in the race to bring pot to Capitol Hill on 15th Ave E.

But temper your expectations. Under a new priority criteria passed by the Legislature, the Washington state Liquor and Cannabis Board will give preferential consideration to those pot pioneers in the dissolving medical marijuana industry. First priority applicants include law abiding medical owners or employees who were issued a license prior to January 2013 and applied for a retail license prior to July 2014. Second priority applicants are medical shop owners or employees who have been linseed sinced January 2013. All other applicants will be third priority.

Even if more permits are issued, permit holders will still have to find a place to open their shop. With buffer rules still in place blocking shops from opening in most retail cores around the city, including on Capitol Hill, new locations remain hard to come by.

The WSLCB is also awaiting the results of a fresh study it commissioned to analyze how the marijuana market has changed over the last year. That will inform future caps on licenses, according to WSLCB spokesperson Brian Smith. Ultimately, the state is keen on maintaining a balanced supply of marijuana as a way to keep pot products from being sold out of state and thus keeping the federal government off its back.

Seattle currently has 24 active retail licenses (the cannabis board added three more licenses to the city’s original allotment). The board will be approving new license applications on a rolling basis.

Also at play is a new regulatory system to bring the mostly unregulated medical shops inline with the highly regulated recreational shops. Many of the city’s medical marijuana dispensaries are expected to close by July 2016 under SB 5052, though the overhaul does pave pathway for some to transition into recreational shops. I-502 shops already in operation will be able to obtain medical endorsements to sell medical marijuana to card-holding patients tax-free. The WSLCB and state Department of Health will have to issue rules on the new system, which aren’t expected until next year. The WSLCB will be taking public testimony on the draft rules November 16th at Seattle City Hall.

Ian Eisenberg, owner of Uncle Ike’s pot shop at 23rd and Union, previously told CHS he will be applying for a license this application period to open a second Uncle Ike’s at 15th and Republican. It would be the first I-502 shop on Capitol Hill. While he waits, Eisenberg opened the Capitol Hill Family Arcade as a place holder. Since buffer rules prevent a pot shop from opening within 1,000 feet of a place where children gather — like an arcade — the arcade has a second function: to block another permit holder trying to open across the street. A spokesperson for tok owner Sam Burke declined to comment on the situation.

Meanwhile, the Central District expanded its retail marijuana offerings as Ponder opened last month at 24th and Union, booking $10,000 in sales in September.

Ponder and Uncle Ike’s are CHS advertisers.

At $1.4 million in September, Uncle Ike’s still ranked as the second, um, highest location in the state for I-502 retail sales. The top store remains the Oregon-boosted Main Street Marijuana in Vancouver, Washington. It booked nearly $2.1 million in sales last month, up slightly from August. Vancouver’s New Vansterdam ranked third at $1.1 million but saw its sales totals fall for the second consecutive month. According to WSLCB reporting, Uncle Ike’s saw its first ever month-over-month decline in sales in September.

Uncle Ike’s doesn’t seem worried. The store will celebrate its first birthday October 17th with DJ sets, fire-eating clowns, food trucks, vendor exhibits, and a reopening of the glass shop next door.