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Monday

Quake rattles Alaska

Mostly cloudy skies over area; some showers B8

7.1 temblor claims houses, but causes no injuries A3

PENINSULA DAILY NEWS January 25 25,, 2016 | 75¢

Port Angeles-Sequim-West End

Eye on Olympia

Growing momentum

Officials support tobacco age bills Area legislators agree on switch BY CHRIS MCDANIEL PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

CHRIS MCDANIEL/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Nick Benge and Wendy Buck-Benge, co-owners of Sparket R&R recreational marijuana shop in Port Angeles, say the price of marijuana has declined, but that customers remain steady in their store.

Budding recreational pot supply brings prices down Production increase lowering costs to $12 a gram in area BY CHRIS MCDANIEL PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

PORT ANGELES — With an overabundance of marijuana in the pipeline, the price of recreational pot on the North Olympic Peninsula has fallen dramatically since the area’s first stores opened in 2014. “When the market started there was not enough product available as the

growers and retailers came online at the same time, so prices were high and quality was not that great from the majority of farms,” Nick Benge, owner of Sparket R&R of Port Angeles, said Thursday. The recreational pot shop opened in March 2015. “We are now a year and half into this new industry, and the quality and yield has increased dramatically as producers have become tuned in to their new large-scale productions.”

Average price Throughout Clallam and Jefferson counties, a gram of recreational marijuana costs about $12, according to shop

owners contacted by Peninsula Daily News. That remains above the state average. Since recreational marijuana sales started in 2014, prices have dropped from about $25 or $30 per gram statewide to about $10 a gram, according to the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board. “We have some $8 grams and numerous $10 grams” for sale, said Molly Fahrenschon, an employee at Sea Change Cannabis near Discovery Bay. “I think in our store, just eyeballing it, I’d say average is probably about $12,” per gram. TURN

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OLYMPIA — Lawmakers are considering a pair of bills that would raise the legal age for the use of tobacco and vaping products in the state from 18 to 21. State Rep. Steve TharALSO . . . inger, D-Sequim; Rep. Kevin ■ State Van De Wege, D-Sequim; and lawmakers Sen. Jim Hargrove, hear from D-Hoquiam — representing both sides the 24th District, which covon guns/A4 ers Clallam and Jefferson counties and part of Grays Harbor County — said they support the change. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson also supports the legislation. In both House Bill 2313 and Senate Bill 6157, anyone who sells tobacco products to a person younger than 21 would be guilty of a gross misdemeanor, according to The Capitol Record. “I would be in favor” of passing the legislation, Hargrove said Friday. “I think smoking is bad for everybody. We ought to probably raise it to 81.” Nicotine “is one of the most addictive drugs, so I would just as soon do everything we can to keep it out of the hands of kids,” Hargrove said. The bill will help keep tobacco away from teens younger than 18 who rely on young adults to purchase tobacco or vaping equipment on their behalf, Tharinger said. “Eighteen-year-olds, I think, supply a lot of tobacco to even younger teenagers,” he said. TURN

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Former Upstage owner lining up PA music Cole among changes at Studio Bob now a homeowner. First up is Coco Montoya, the blues-rock-soul guitar slinger, PORT ANGELES — Pretty Albert Collins protege and former soon, downtown will have the member of John Mayall’s Bluesblues. breakers. But no, this is not another story about vacant storefronts February performance and wintertime. Soon after gigs at San FranIt is about a guy who moved here from Port Townsend with a cisco’s Biscuits & Blues club and determinedly upbeat attitude — Seattle’s Triple Door, Montoya and a lot of contacts in the world will come to Studio Bob on Saturday, Feb. 6. of rhythm and blues. The artist is one of many who Mark Cole, former owner of the Upstage Theatre and Restaurant played the Upstage during its of downtown Port Townsend, is heyday of hosting blues, rock and busy booking blues acts at Studio jazz acts from around the world. But the venue closed in June Bob, the art gallery-event space in Port Angeles, the city where he’s 2013 following Cole’s dispute with

BY DIANE URBANI

DE LA

PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Your Peninsula

PAZ

landlord Dave Peterson over building repairs, and Cole booked some concerts at other Port Townsend halls. Then he decided to start anew in the neighboring county. “I could have moved anywhere. But I really like Port Angeles. There’s a lot of cool stuff going on,” said Cole, 64. Besides the downtown scene, he observes, there’s Olympic National Park and the ferry to and from Victoria. And the lack of traffic is major. “It takes no time to get anywhere. I absolutely love it,” said Cole, who, before moving to the North Olympic Peninsula, spent KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS years working in the wine indusBob Stokes, owner of Studio Bob, looks forward to a try in Los Angeles County.

season of art shows and concerts at his downtown Port

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