When I-502 rolled out, one of the many criticisms was the conservative cap on recreational cannabis stores. First there was the lottery with only a few lucky applicants’ allotted licenses at a time. In the opening months of Cannabis City in Seattle, it was the only recreational cannabis store in the city. As such, they were constantly running out of cannabis, and prices basically had to be unreasonably high. Though more stores did eventually open, and prices eventually dropped, the whole process seemed overly complicated and restrictive. But no more!

Just in time for the state-required transition of medical access points to recreational stores, the cap on applications has been lifted. Cities in Washington may apply for as many new recreational cannabis store licenses as they please. Of course, cities are allowed to impose restrictions if they choose. But no more of the holdup at the state level, at least for now.

Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) spokesman Mikhail Carpenter gave a statement to KUOW about the new regulations.

“While there is presently no cap, we have also been very upfront about the fact that we may shut it off,” Carpenter said.

“An upcoming report from the RAND Corporation . . . will estimate how much marijuana Washington residents are consuming,” KUOW says. “Those numbers will help guide his agency’s decision on how many licenses to grant.”

While more data is always a good thing, projecting how much cannabis people in a region consume seems like an incredibly difficult thing to do accurately. Especially when you consider, according to Randy Simmons State Marijuana Project Director, the recreational stores are only providing cannabis to about 9 to 10 percent of the available market. Figuring out exactly how much black market cannabis buyers are consuming seems like a difficult, if not impossible task.

So while the data Rand Corporation is collecting is wonderful in many ways and will be useful for some applications, hopefully the WSLCB doesn’t limit the amount of access points based on iffy numbers. The WSLCB has certainly made some mistakes along the way, but the new lift on rec store caps seems to be a step in the right direction. A step that very well may be data based as well.

In September, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy released a report titled I-502 Evaluation Plan and Preliminary Report on Implementation. The report examined the cost-benefit analysis of legal recreational cannabis in Washington State. While the report didn’t offer any conclusive findings, it did offer a wealth of data. And with the release of the report so close to the lift of the cap, it seems the preliminary findings may very well have influenced this particular policy.

Though the future for recreational cannabis stores in Washington is still waiting to unfold, the lift on caps does seem like positive progress. As more solid data becomes available, perhaps the state will become a more supportive place for cannabis entrepreneurs.