Uncle Ike's Pot Shop
.jpg) Uncle Ike's Pot Shop in 2015 | |
| Formation | September 30, 2014 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Ian Karl Eisenberg |
| Type | Retail |
| Location |
|
| Coordinates | 47°36′48″N 122°18′09″W / 47.6133°N 122.3025°WCoordinates: 47°36′48″N 122°18′09″W / 47.6133°N 122.3025°W |
| Products | Cannabis and related glass products |
Revenue | Over $1 million per month.[1] |
| Website |
uncleikespotshop |
Uncle Ike's Pot Shop is an establishment in Seattle, Washington, licensed by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board to sell cannabis to the public.[2] It opened on September 30, 2014 and was the second cannabis retailer in Seattle, after Cannabis City.[3][4] As of 2016 it led the state of Washington in cannabis retail sales at over $1 million per month.[1] The proprietor is Ian Karl Eisenberg, aka "Uncle Ike".[5][6] The business is both praised for being the first to inform consumers about pesticides in their product, and criticized for contributing to gentrification of the neighborhood it is located in, Seattle's Central District.[5] When it opened, the shop was said to be "built like a fortress" with security provided by a company owned and staffed by ex-military servicemembers.[3]
Controversy
Protests at the shop started a week after it opened in 2014.[7]
The Seattle chapter of Black Lives Matter, under the leadership of activist Marissa Johnson, was criticized leadership for allowing anti-Semitic remarks at some 2015 rallies concerning Eisenberg's ownership.[8][9][10]
After a Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 2016 protest outside his store, Eisenberg replied through social media that he had moved into vacant property and his several businesses do not contribute to gentrification.[11] Some protestors complained on 420 Day (April 20), 2016, that the business is located three feet (1 meter) from a church that sometimes has youth events.[12][13]
In 2016, National Vanguard called Eisenberg "Seattle's Hyperaggressive Jewish Pot King" for Uncle Ike's advertising and pricing practices.[14]
References
- 1 2 Bob Young (February 25, 2016), "Seattle's brash king of pot raking in cash and raising hackles", The Virgin Islands Daily News – via The Seattle Times
- ↑ Julie Weed (July 14, 2015), "At Uncle Ike's Pot Shop, The Clientele Is Evolving", Forbes
- 1 2 'Uncle Ike's' — Seattle's 2nd legal pot store — built like a fortress, to open Tuesday, Q13 FOX television, September 29, 2014
- ↑ Evan Bush (September 30, 2014), Uncle Ike's becomes second licensed pot retailer in Seattle
- 1 2 Bob Young (February 25, 2016), "Seattle's brash king of pot raking in cash and raising hackles", Alaska Dispatch News, Anchorage
- ↑ Lucy Rock (May 22, 2016), "Marijuana millionaires cashing in on cannabis legalisation", The Guardian
- ↑ Evan Bush (October 6, 2014), "Protest at Uncle Ike's Pot Shop; Will Oregon legalize?", The Seattle Times
- ↑ Charles Mudede (September 2, 2015), "Anti-Semitic Remarks at a Black Lives Matter Event Appear to Go Unchallenged", The Stranger
- ↑ Josh Feit (August 26, 2015), "Anti-Semitism Creeps into Recent Black Lives Matter March", Seattle Metropolitan
- ↑ Bryan Cohen (September 3, 2015), "With Central District I-502 retail a $1M+ a month business, 15th Ave E pot shop maneuverings play out", Capitolhillseattle.com, CHS Capitol Hill Seattle, LLC
- ↑ Josh Feit (January 19, 2016), "Protesters Confront Pot Shop Owner, Legislator Confronts Teens, and Council to Confront Mayor Pot, gentrification, virginity, and homelessness.", Seattle Met
- ↑ Sara Bernard (April 21, 2016), "The 4/20 Protest at Ike's Took Over the Corner, But it Didn't Shut Down the Party", Seattle Weekly
- ↑ Dyer Oxley (April 22, 2016), Why this Seattle pot shop is allowed next to a youth center, KTTH/MyNorthwest.com
- ↑ Rosemary Pennington, "Uncle Ike" Eisenberg: Seattle’s Hyperaggressive Jewish Pot King (Official website), National Vanguard