When Sea Change Cannabis opened at 10 a.m., about 40 people were lined up outside the 150-square-foot wood cabin along U.S. Highway 101 in Discovery Bay.

“That was the biggest line of the day,” said Brotherton, who hung around the store most of the day, talking with patrons, until product ran out at 7:30 p.m. “It was a steady line ’til about 4 p.m. We probably had our biggest gap at that point, but it started right back up at about 4:20 p.m.”

The store opened for its first — and, so far, only — day of business more than two weeks after the state’s first five stores opened July 8 upon some 25 retailers receiving licenses from the state Liquor Control Board. Short supply has caused those stores that have opened to close or to conserve product.

As of Tuesday, July 29, the state had licensed 33 retail stores throughout the state.

Brotherton, who had 2.5 pounds of three strains of dried marijuana from Peninsula Cannabis in Port Angeles for sale Friday, said he expects to have less than a pound available for sale at 10 a.m. this Friday, Aug. 1.

“We do have a little bit coming this week, but not as much,” said Brotherton, adding that Peninsula Cannabis’ next crop won’t be ready until the following weekend – Aug. 8-10. “On the first summer [of legalization], it would be nice to have more product. But I’m not worried about the long term.”

FIRST CUSTOMER

River Carey, 39, of Port Townsend was all smiles as he walked into the wood cabin, which was complete with security cameras, a large safe, padded flooring, pipes and other pieces, and three strains of dried marijuana separated into glass jars covered with perforated screens to allow smell samples.

Carey looked over the product, asked a couple questions of the budtender and before long he’d picked his pot and prepared to pay. His two one-eighths of an ounce packages – one with the indica-dominant White Widow, the other a sativa-dominant OG Ghost Train Haze – and some rolling papers cost $106.50.

“This [expletive’s] expensive,” Carey said while paying for his marijuana. “But it’s all relative, I guess.”

Carey arrived two hours early to get the first spot, though another man had beaten him to it. The man, who declined to be named, said he agreed to give up his historic spot in line because it meant more to Carey.

A sea of grey hair indicated that more than half of those in line were more than 50 years of age. Among that demographic were Francis Loveall, 63, of Port Townsend and her friend Cid Gerome, 66, of Cincinnati, who held the fifth spot in line.

“This was the first time in my life I was able to buy something [marijuana] that I knew what it was and where it came from instead of having to guess,” said Loveall after purchasing one-eighth of an ounce of each of the three strains available.

OPENING PRICES

The store exclusively dealt in cash and only sold marijuana in quantities of one-eighth of an ounce, meaning about 320 packages were sold throughout the day.

The three strains – OG Ghost Train Haze, White Widow and Jack Frost 7 – sold for $55, $50 and $45, respectively. That includes state-imposed excise taxes of 25 percent at each transaction – producer to retailer and retailer to consumer.

Brotherton said though several customers remarked on the relatively high prices, that didn’t stop the store from selling out.

“There were the general grumblings about how expensive it was,” said Brotherton. “But we probably priced things lower than we should have. I wish I could sell out of the grocery store in a day.”

State sales tax revenues, not including local and business taxes, collected from the first three days of legal sales from July 8-10 totaled $148,256, according to The Associated Press.

An ounce of high quality marijuana sells for about $235 on the black market, according to

priceofweed.com. A gram of medical marijuana sells for about $10, said Gracen Hook, who operates Port Townsend medical marijuana dispensary The Alternative Clinic at 1433 W. Sims Way. Hook expects to open the city’s only retail store sometime in September under the name Peninsula Herbal.

Herbal Access at 661 Ness’ Corner Road, the retail store in Port Hadlock, is expected to open sometime in August.

ABIDING BY THE LAW

As Carey pulled his truck onto Hwy. 101 to head home and enjoy his purchase, he yelled to those still lined up outside the store, “Don’t smoke and drive.”

Not long after, Loveall and Gerome emerged with their purchase. They headed to the recently opened Discovery Bay Village Store next door to stock up on provisions before enjoying their purchase.

Brotherton said customers remained civil and within the law throughout the day, resisting the urge to take a post-purchase toke outside the store or in their cars.

“They want it to work,” said Brotherton. “There aren’t going to be a lot of scofflaws right now because they don’t want the law to go away.”