Marijuana application lists Endicott area site

Whitman County commissioners Monday morning received notice for an application for a marijuana production and processing site near Endicott.

The commissioners decided to do nothing with the application which was relayed from the Washington State Liquor Control Board.

Garry Griffiths, whose mailing address is in Pasco, is applying for a license as a marijuana producer and a marijuana processor at Three G Farms at 7205 Endicott Road.

Although commissioners could not have stopped the application process, they could have approved the applicant and approved the location.

“I think we should do nothing,” said Commissioner Art Swannack who said he doesn’t believe in the legalization.

“I don’t want to be part of the process,” Swannack said.

The other two commissioners agreed, and they moved on with the rest of their agenda for the morning.

In a telephone interview with the Gazette, Griffiths said he’s been leasing 125 acres of land for three and a half years. He said part of the property used to be a pig ranch.

“We thought when this opportunity came along, we thought why not,” he said.

The farm is about eight miles from Endicott.

Griffiths said he hopes to obtain a license from the liquor board by March so he can start seeding shortly after. He said he would use less than two acres for marijuana that includes a greenhouse and open land, totaling about 30,000 square feet.

Griffiths said before any crop is planted he would have to comply with state requirements for a security system that would include a fence, surveillance cameras and personnel.

He said the marijuana would be seeded outside in the spring and needs a lot of water. He will cut the plants, which can grow as high as 12 feet, then will hang them upside down until dry. At that point he will sell them to processors.

“It’s mostly hands-on work,” he said.

“It’s like growing hot-house tomatoes,” he said. “It’s just another crop.”

“Who would you rather give $100 to, the cartels or the farmer who grows it for the state?”

“I look at it as a new crop and I’m a farmer who is coming in with a new crop,” he said. “It’s eco-friendly and organic.”

“I’d rather have someone have a brownie than drink a beer,” he said.

“I’m just a farmer who is trying to survive,” he said.