State shuts Finley’s Green2Go cannabis store for 5 days
State regulators temporarily suspended the license of a popular Tri-City cannabis shop after it failed a December inspection.
Finley’s Green2Go retail outlet is expected to reopen Tuesday morning for regular business hours after being closed five days.
Green2Go, owned by Kennewick Mayor Pro Tem Steve Lee and his wife Jessy, was cited Dec. 12 for violating a state law that requires marijuana businesses to track marijuana from seed to sale in order to prevent it from being diverted from the regulated industry.
Licensees are required to provide the information to the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board at their own expense.
Brian Smith, spokesman for the regulatory agency, said the violation means the data in the state’s traceability system didn’t match what officers saw at the store.
Green2Go had the option of a five-day suspension or paying a $2,500 fine. When there was no response within 20 days, the five-day suspension became the default penalty.
Lee could not be reached Monday about the issue but he posted on the Tri-City Herald’s Facebook page that the store will reopen at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
The sign on the door called the closure a technical issue.
State cannabis inspections
Cannabis board records indicate state inspectors visited Green2Go twice on Dec. 12, a day when inspectors conducted 14 visits in Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham and the Spokane area, among others.
Only one other was flagged for violating state law that day.
A cannabis producer in an unincorporated area of King County received a written warning for violating surveillance system rules.
Green2Go is one of four licensed cannabis retailers in Benton County. Altitude and Bake Shop operate near Prosser. Nirvana Cannabis is in development near West Richland but has not opened.
Green2Go first opened in 2012 as a medical marijuana supplier and then it became a retail outlet when the law changed.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct that Green2Go reopens on Tuesday, Jan. 29.
This story was originally published January 28, 2019 at 10:51 AM.