Washington State’s First Cannabis Auction Makes $600,000 for Farmer

Washington State made history this month with the first ever
legal cannabis auction, which yielded one lucky farmer $600,000 for his
product. He also managed to run a successful auction and prove that this
process can be carried out in a responsible and orderly fashion.

The lucky farmer is Randy Williams of Firewood Farms. He
sold 300 pounds total, and on average made about $125 an ounce. His auction was
so successful that 36 potential buyers showed up, and he had to utilize his
farm and the parking lot across the street in order for everyone to park.

Lt. Jeremy Wissing of the Washington State Liquor Control
Board oversaw the events at the auction, and praised it for being very
organized and professional. Buyers were allowed to open the bags that were up
to auction and bid on the product, but there was no consumption allowed. While
some complained that they couldn’t try before they buy, the decision to keep
imbibing out of the equation was probably a good thing, since it added to the
auction’s credibility.

The auction itself took place in a heated tent, and all of
the cannabis was cured and dried. He sold amounts from a few grams up to a
kilogram, and the entire process was regulated and entirely up to legal codes.
He also donated eleven pounds of his product’s sales, raising up to $14,000 for
the local schools.

This event was widely successful, and Wissing, who kept
things up to legal code, remarked that, “It’s just a different way of moving
his product.” The cannabis was all tested and labeled in potency by an
analytics laboratory, so that there was no guessing involved as to the quality
or strength. If this is any indication of the way things are going, there will
be many more cannabis auctions in the near future.