Washington Officials Set Rules for Legal Pot

SEATTLE (AP) — They've spent nearly eight months visiting marijuana grow houses, holding public hearings, meeting with dealers and studying the science of getting high. Now, officials in Washington are taking their first stab at setting rules for the state's new legal weed industry.

The Liquor Control Board is releasing preliminary draft rules Thursday afternoon. The board is tasked with deciding everything from how pot should be grown and labeled to how it's tested for quality assurance, but some of the most interesting questions — such as how much marijuana will be grown, and how many retail stores will be licensed — aren't likely to be answered yet.

That's because the state's official pot consultant is still working to estimate marijuana consumption here. Last fall Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize the sale of taxed marijuana to adults over 21 at state-licensed stores.