In wake of violent hold ups, state officials mull plans to keep pot shops safe

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Members of the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board met Wednesday to discuss ways to increase security at the state's marijuana dispensaries and whether a cashless payment system will help bolster safety.

The discussions came after a Tacoma worker was fatally shot last month during an armed robbery. A teen suspect has been arrested in connection with that slaying but another teen remained at large as of Wednesday evening.

A pot shop in North Seattle run by Ocean Greens was hit by armed robbers two months ago, leaving some of his employees hurt.

Since then, Greens said the stores have ramped up security and have created a waiting area before customers can enter the business.

"This kind of gives us time to screen all the customers that come in and make sure they are all 21-plus," Greens said. "And they are safe to come into our establishment and they don't carry any guns with them."

David Postman, chair of the board, and its members discussed steps to keep stores safe.

"Most of these things that anybody has talked about cost money and it's going to fall on the retail," Postman said.

The board also wants to provide education to store owners and customers on how to limit the cash on hand, which is what the criminals are looking for.

"Seems to me that the biggest hurdle likely is, 'It's just not as convenient' as if you could walk in with a credit card, or a debit card. There are some extra steps that in most cases the customer has to take. Which is sort of a tough position for a retailer to try to move from cash. You need to convince customers to download an app, or whatever else it is," Postman said asking a question, as members talked about options to move forward on education.

Greens said there are more challenges, in the untraceable feature for customers that cash offers and the fact that marijuana is still illegal on the federal level.

"Please allow us to do banking, so we're all safe," Greens said, as he offered a final message to state and local leaders.

The board also discussed security assessments they said local law enforcement agencies have helped cannabis stores conduct. They are working to find out if their state agency can offer any assistance in that area of expertise.