Court upholds Wash. residency requirement for pot industry

By GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — A U.S. judge has upheld Washington’s residency requirement for involvement in the state’s legal cannabis industry — a decision at odds with a federal appeals court ruling concerning a similar requirement in Maine. A man who owns a chain of Washington cannabis stores called Zips, Scott Atkinson, wanted to transfer part of his ownership interest to a longtime friend who lives in Idaho, Todd Brinkmeyer. But Washington requires owners and investors in regulated marijuana businesses to have lived in the state for at least six months. Brinkmeyer sued the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board in 2020, saying the residency requirement was unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle disagreed in a ruling Monday.