MOSES LAKE - The state Liquor Control Board approved Wednesday the rules for legal marijuana after nearly a year of research and public hearings.

The Liquor Control Board will begin accepting applications Nov. 18 for producing, processing and retailer licenses.

It's not clear, though, where the seeds will come from to initially begin growing legal marijuana.

The state won't know, according to Steve Johnson, deputy chief of enforcement with the board. And it won't ask for the first 15 days after someone is authorized to have a license and grow.

Johnson, speaking during the Initiative 502 discussion in Moses Lake Tuesday, said there is no place in the country to legally buy marijuana seeds or starters, adding there are marijuana starts available from places in Europe and Canada.

"We're not going to ask where they came from because there's no other place to get them," he said.

After that initial 15 days, growers will have to buy seeds from other legal growers in the state, Johnson said.

Although the rules were approved this week, Johnson expects many changes to those rules over the next couple years, much the same as rules for liquor laws have changed.

"The rules associated with regulating marijuana are going to go through the same process," he said. "We needed to have some place to start. We know they're imperfect."

The approved rules cover everything from security, tracing marijuana product and how many retail stores can open in each city across the state.

"Our goal is to set up a highly regulated, highly organized and highly controlled market that will track the sale of marijuana from seed to sale," Johnson said.

Grant County has been allowed seven locations for pot retail stores, with two locations allowed in Moses Lake. Moses Lake Mayor Bill Ecret said the city has already mapped out possibly locations for retail business within city limits, but has not instructed staff on the direction they would like to take to allow or not allow retail.

Many questions still remain about how much money the state could bring in from excise taxes on the legal marijuana industry. Estimates range from zero to $2 billion. Johnson said people seem to be focusing on the greater estimate.

"They don't seem to recognize the zero," he said. "There's a real strong possibility that we may be closer to zero than the $2 billion."

Other panel members from Monday's discussion focused on the affect legal marijuana could have on the community, especially children.

Although recreation use is still illegal for those younger than 21, Moses Lake High School teacher Jamie Wise said misinformation on the law can be conflicting for students, adding he has heard some parents have even started smoking pot with their own children.

"I'm just afraid our kids aren't being told the truth," he said. "It's legal now. Does making it legal make it healthy?

Leigh Allison-Ray, student assistant specialist with the Moses Lake School District, said referrals for marijuana use by students has increased with the passing of I-502, and she knows of instances where students have traded iPhones or Xboxes for marijuana. The students need to be educated, she said.

"We need to let these kids now that their brain is still developing," Allison-Ray said.

Even more disturbing, Josh Sainsbury, drug recognition expert with the Grant County Sheriff's Office, said he has seen a greater number of impaired drivers under the influence of pot, stressing more than half of all fatal collisions in the state involve marijuana, ranking marijuana higher than alcohol.

Johnson said the rules are designed to protect underage people, keeping it out of their hands in the highly regulated industry.

The complete rules and more information on licensing applications can be found on the Liquor Control Board website at www.liq.wa.gov.