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WHEN IT CAME TO DOING THE RIGHT THING, HASHTAG WAS FIGHTING FOR MORE THAN CHRISTMAS LIGHTS.
In a costly lawsuit, the owners of Hashtag Cannabis fought back against an overzealous Liquor and Cannabis Board ruling this past month.
OWNERS JERINA & LOGAN BOWERS, OUTSIDE THEIR REDMOND SHOP\ CHRISTMAS EVE
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HASHTAG STANDS UP
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The true meaning of Christmas is spreading holiday cheer - something the Cannabis retail team at Hashtag Cannabis in Seattle and Redmond take seriously while offering season’s greetings by the gram. Whilst slinging their green-style happiness last year the debatable “War on Christmas” became very real as the retailer was fined $2,500 and slapped with a violation for hanging up Christmas lights in their street-facing window. To call the Liquor & Cannabis Board “The Grinch” might be a stretch, but they sent their officers out over a simple message spelled out in bright lights of green, blue, red and yellow. Pot! The LCB made the argument that the lights legally acted as a sign for the pot store, which is only allowed to have two fixed placement and sized signs. Hashtag was also ordered to remove a Black Lives Matter sign from their entrance, and an All Are Welcome/Safe Space sign. Firm in their freedom of speech rights and holiday spirit, owners Logan and Jerina Bowers decided to challenge the ruling in court. “I was just really pissed,” Logan told the Stranger last month. “We were frustrated with being dicked around. Sometimes doing the right thing costs a ton and it’s a little bit of a bummer.”
JAN. 2020
After a year of litigation and over $30,000 dollars in legal fees that the LCB will be repaying, the Hashtag team were vindicated last month when a judge ruled that the LCB’s rules were not “directly and materially advancing the state’s interests” and that they actually undermined the mission to prevent underage consumption. What started as a sour note became a holiday miracle, and an opportunity to advance policy surrounding the Cannabis industry. “I really assume the LCB was doing what they believed their job was to be, and I certainly don’t fault them for it. I think that it’s cool that as a Cannabis business we can go to court and say that we disagree,” said Christine Cohen, Director Of Marketing and Community Outreach for Hashtag. “My hope is that we can have a more critical eye towards how these rules and regulations are developed and enforced, because that does benefit all Cannabis businesses and the LCB as well. As an agency, if they don’t have to put their limited time towards enforcing parts of regulations that truly don’t help public safety or help avoid diversion to illicit markets or minors, they can reorient towards those things and move away from things that don’t hurt anybody.” When it came to doing the right thing, Hashtag was fighting for more than Christmas lights. The LCB has waged a regulatory war on signage since Cannabis became legal, changing rules often and limiting how the licensed businesses can promote themselves. For many Cannabis retailers, it feels like a double standard.
They can sell pot, and the state happily takes taxes, but they are treated like second-class businesses that must be hidden away. For Cohen, the challenge was for every retailer in the state. “It’s very surreal for our business to be a part of a case against the LCB, over something we did not think would be a big deal. Because we’re glad to partner with the LCB to follow all regulations as best we can,” Cohen explained, while admitting that the victory feels well deserved. “It feels good! And it feels good because the outcome of this case is a more fair interpretation for all the Cannabis retailers in the state. Through this case the LCB was forced to examine exactly how these signage regulations are interpreted and enforced, and I expect what will happen next is a more balanced interpretation for the rules, and that’s good for all of us.” With limited resources to protect and regulate both Cannabis and alcohol industries, the merit of enforcing rules that don’t protect the public should be at the forefront of the conversation. Now that the challenge has been overruled, and freedom of speech protected, Hashtag is looking forward to the next holiday season with a big display of cheer. “This industry is evolving and it takes moments like a string of Christmas lights to get us to stop and look and reflect a little bit,” Cohen said with a chuckle. “We are moving locations next year - and if we have big windows - we are going to go all out on Christmas. Deck the halls!”
STORY by WES ABNEY @BEARDEDLORAX | PORTRAIT by DANIEL BERMAN @BERMANPHOTOS