On June 27, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) issued an emergency suspension of the license for MJ's Pot Shop in Pullman, closing the business for 180 days. According to enforcement records, the emergency suspension followed a pair of temporary suspensions that were not obeyed, plus eight other violations of state regulations over the past two years, including sale to a minor and issues with tax reporting.
Of the combined 10 violations, six occurred in 2024 alone.
"The Licensee is likely to continue to commit violations in the future. The continued operation of the licensed activities constitutes a direct and immediate threat to the public health, safety, and/or welfare that requires immediate action," LCB staff wrote in a June 26 legal filing that led to the emergency suspension.
The LCB intends to permanently revoke the license for MJ's Pot Shop after the emergency suspension concludes.
LCB acknowledged that emergency suspensions are an "extraordinary exercise of the state's power." Such action from the state is extremely rare: State records show only 11 such penalties issued since the recreational cannabis market opened in 2014, mostly against producers or processors rather than distributors.
The most recent previous state-licensed store to get hit with such a punishment was Seattle's Herban Legends back in 2019 — that suspension was subsequently made permanent.
To Mary Jane Smith, the owner of MJ's Pot Shop, these punishments are beyond "extraordinary."
"They're overstepping their bounds," Smith tells the Inlander. "They need to legalize pot."
In addition to the documented violations of state code, law enforcement noted that Smith threatened officers multiple times, including an incident on May 30 that was caught on the store's cameras.
A June 25 email between LCB enforcement officers, provided as part of a public records request, states in part, "When departing the suspension, the licensee (Mary J Smith) [waved] a large machete at Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) Officers and Pullman Police Department (PPD) and stated, 'I can kill you guys now.' All staff departed without further incident."
The May 30 incident occurred when officers issued a temporary suspension for delinquent tax filings.
MJ's Pot Shop was twice found to be in violation of that temporary suspension, with the state notice removed from the door and the store opening for business despite a suspended license. State code (WAC 314-55-520) prescribes an additional temporary suspension for the first violation of a suspended license, and the outright cancellation of the license for the second violation.
The June 27 emergency suspension came as a result of MJ's Pot Shop's second violation.
