Washington State Blocked a Black Woman From Selling Legal Pot Because Her Spouse Is in Prison

Steven Hsieh | Jun 1, 2017

Libby Haines-Marchel thought she had taken all the necessary steps to open a pot shop.

Shortly after Washington voters approved a ballot initiative legalizing recreational cannabis in 2012, Haines-Marchel applied for a retailer’s license to service Rock Island, a scattering of gas stations and food marts in Douglas County (population: 788), not far from her in-laws’ home. Despite the name, the city is not an island, but a scenic highway pit stop along the Columbia River. She was one of six applicants to throw in her name for one of two at-large allotments in the county. Haines-Marchel, with her lottery luck, topped the list.

Washington State Blocked a Black Woman From Selling Legal Pot Because Her Spouse Is in Prison