OLYMPIA -- Potential growers, processors and vendors of marijuana will be able to apply for state licenses in one month. The agency in charge of setting up the state's recreational marijuana system this morning approved the rules they'll have to follow to get the industry off the ground.

"Today we are making history," Sharon Foster, chairwoman of the Washington State Liquor Control Board, said. "It's going to be a bumpy road for a while, folks."

The 43 typed pages of rules cover everything from how far a marijuana store must be from schools, parks and other places frequented by children (1,000 feet, in a straight line from property boundaries) to the size of a sign a store may have (1,600 square inches) to the hours it may be open (8 a.m. to midnight)

They describe the system to track a marijuana plant and its useable materials it produces from the field to the processor to the store, as well as the warning labels that must accompany marijuana or products infused with the drug when they are sold.

Board member Chris Marr, a former state senator from Spokane, called the rules a balance between public access and public safety, and should allay the fears of cities and counties that have passed moratoria on marijuana businesses being located within their borders. "We might not have it exactly right," Marr added, and some adjustments will likely need to be made in the coming years.

The board will hold a series of licensing "seminars" around the state to help potential applicants understand the rules and answer their questions. A pair of seminars is scheduled for the Spokane Convention Center on Oct. 23. Applications for the licenses will be available beginning Nov. 18.

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