Recreational marijuana store Nature’s Gifts is ready for business.
Owner David Halpern and manager Matthew Clark will open the doors 9 a.m. Saturday, March 26, at 775 W. Washington St., Suite C.
“It’s a great relief to open,” Halpern said. “I really won’t believe it until it happens.”
Throughout Saturday in celebration of the grand opening there will be specials, light refreshments, baked goods and local growers on site to answer questions. Some specials include $99 ounces, $9 grams, $7 pre-rolled joints and $5 edibles, Clark said.
Halpern and Clark are starting off with nine employees and networking with more than 20 producers. Although the “emphasis” is on local producers, Clark also hopes to bring some new products to the Olympic Peninsula, he said.
Similar to buying food or craft beer, Halpern recognizes consumers want to know where their products are coming from and how they were produced. Knowing this, he said, the staff at Nature’s Gifts are educated on all the products carried in the store, ranging from concentrates, edibles, flowers and extractions to pre-rolled joints and paraphernalia.
Saturday is a long-awaited milestone for Halpern that’s coming nearly two years after he was awarded the opportunity to be the sole recreational marijuana retailer in Sequim in May 2014 through a state-conducted lottery system. Despite being selected, it wasn’t until the city’s moratorium on the sale of marijuana expired last August that Halpern was able to progress toward opening.
The moratorium left Halpern in a state of limbo and that was the most “challenging” aspect of opening, he said.
Additionally, in response to the state mandate to integrate medical marijuana with recreational effective this July, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board accepted more applicants following the lottery first used. As a result, upon opening Nature’s Gifts will be the second recreational marijuana store within the Sequim city limits.
Once the WSLCB is ready to take applications, Halpern plans to apply for a medical marijuana endorsement in order to serve medical as well as recreational customers.
Nature’s Gifts will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday-Wednesday and 9 a.m.-10 p.m., Thursday-Saturday.
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/naturesgiftssequim or call 797-1993.
Reach Alana Linderoth at alinderoth@sequimgazette.com.
