Winnemucca's first state-licensed cannabis shop opens after 8-month COVID delay

WINNEMUCCA. Nev. — After over eight months of delays in opening due to the pandemic, the first state-licensed cannabis dispensary in Winnemucca opened on Dec. 22.

Lucid Winnemucca had planned to open in April 2020, but when COVID-19 shutdowns started, licensing offices shut down and state inspections were held up, and the planned opening was delayed.

“It’s great to be here, it was a long-time coming, everyone genuinely helped where they could,” said Queen Avaava, COO of Lucid Management Company, the parent company of the Winnemucca location.

The state-licensed medical and recreational store is located at 3555 Construction Way where the former Franklin Lumber Supply was located.

Avaava has been in the industry since 2011 when the company first opened a medical store in Washington state. Following the 2012 legalization of recreational marijuana there, the company opened five additional medicinal and recreational stores throughout the state.

Locations include Lacey, Olympia, Spokane, Cheney, Auburn and Puyallup, Wash.

Avaava came to the industry first as a designer when she was asked to design a medical facility floor plan.

“We wanted to create an atmosphere where people would feel comfortable coming in,” said Avaava. “What we were really trying to do was clean up what the atmosphere was like so people could feel comfortable to come in and talk to somebody and we would sit and review all the different types of products that were available and what we had available for them so they could start to find some ease in their pain of life.”

Avaava said culture is a priority for Lucid Management, where they intend to create a community that promotes individual growth, transparency and kindness with employees and clients.

“One of the main things that we’re looking to do is 'be love, give love and spread love,'” said Avaava. “We want every person that we engage with to leave knowing that ‘somebody heard me today,’ because at the end of the day, all we really need is some human interaction, some connection.”

Lucid Winnemucca plans to give back to the community by participating in food drives, coat drives, donating toiletries to the homeless, picking up trash and creating awareness campaigns for learning disabilities like Dyslexia.

Lucid Winnemucca currently has 25 employees, with 3-4 who travel throughout locations for training and other purposes, while the others reside in Winnemucca.

The cash-only dispensary is open every day from 8 a.m. to midnight.

Winnemucca’s only other dispensary is the Water Canyon Dispensary owned and operated by the Winnemucca Indian Colony which opened in late spring 2020.