OLYMPIA, Washington -- Many, many people have smoked marijuana.
Whether you've inhaled or not, come on, we know you tried it back in the day. But many, many more of you haven't ever procured the sticky icky legally. Here in Olympia, Washington -- one of few states where pot is legal AND sold in stores -- you can drive down the road, waltz into a cafe and pick up a joint, an ounce, or even a chronic soda.
Olympia city council has allowed for two recreational weed shops so far (stores are opening up in surrounding towns, too) and we got a look inside one of them.
Green Lady Marijuana opened late last year after a slew of public meetings and a long permitting process. It isn't quite as sleek as, say, an Apple store, but where it lacks in IKEA furniture, it makes up for in product.
Below is a tour of one of the city's first legal pot dealers. But first, get your Marijuana Fun Facts straight by listening to our interview with employee Jasmine Hargrove (interview starts at the 26:44 mark):
THIS is how many of the state's bud cafes look on the outside. It's a little unnerving when you first arrive. Green Lady Marijuana, for instance, shares its building with a tire shop, and it's all next to a state patrol office.
It's not seedy inside, by any means, but walking in for the first time makes some new customers feel a little guilty -- like walking into a porn shop on a main street.
"It was definitely weird the first time, heck, I can't even tell my daughter I was here," said one 53-year-old customer, who only gave her name as Donna. "I feel more at ease than when I used to get marijuana illegally, but there's still that little adrenaline rush when you walk out of a store with a bag of pot cookies and a joint."
"We like to give a more personal experience with your bud-tender -- some people are just now learning what they want," she said. "Plus there is security, because we do deal with a very in-demand product and we deal with a lot of cash."
You show a security guard your ID -- you have to be 21 to buy weed in Washington state -- and you sit in this waiting room for about 5 minutes.
That's when you learn that people from all walks are buying sticky icky. Everyone from your high school friends to the suit-and-tie business man is in that waiting room.
Would you go into a legal weed shop in your area?