Marijuana-munchies bus to roll into Everett this weekend

EVERETT — The temptation to infuse the food-truck fad with marijuana apparently was too great to pass up.

And so, if things go as planned, expect to see an entrepreneur pull into a south Everett farmers market this weekend to hawk cannabis-laced snacks from a converted school bus.

The hot-pink rolling restaurant, dubbed the Samich Truck, isn’t intended to comply with Washington’s rules for legal pot sales — and won’t. The state isn’t even scheduled to start issuing licenses for voter-approved retail pot sales until July 7.

The food truck’s backers want to sell THC-fortified sandwiches, popcorn and other treats to people with a doctor’s permission to use pot. It’s a gambit to promote a botanical extractor made by a Seattle-based MagicalButter.com.

“We have incredible chefs and we want to showcase their skills and the quality of the machine,” company CEO Garyn Angel said Tuesday.

A blender-like appliance marketed as the MB2, the extractor can infuse plant flavors such as pomegranate or rosemary into all sorts of food products: oils, butters, vodkas and more. It also can do that with THC, the psychoactive — some would argue medicinal — ingredient in marijuana.

Angel spoke by phone from Denver, where the truck debuted April 20 — naturally — at a pot festival called the Cannabis Cup. His venture soon attracted media attention from the likes of Newsweek, the Huffington Post and Forbes.

A New York City-area P.R. firm sent out press releases last week to advertise the truck’s first Washington appearance, in Everett.

The plan is for the truck to set up at the Jet City farmers market at 1120 112th Street SW from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The spot is in unincorporated Snohomish County, just outside Everett city limits.

“We want to be fully compliant and up-front and fully cooperate with authorities and not be a nuisance for them,” Angel said. “But we also want to provide patients with incredible infused meals.”

The truck will operate in the gray area of medical marijuana sales. That puts it outside the scope of rules the state Liquor Control Board has been working on since November 2012, when voters passed Initiative 502.

“There are any number of reasons why it’s incompatible with I-502,” Liquor Control spokesman Mikhail Carpenter said.

A fixed store location is a given under the state rules. The state also requires all food containing recreational marijuana to be in marked, child-proof packaging. Food must be tested for potency and cannot require refrigeration.

The Liquor Control Board will issue about 20 retail licenses on July 7, and the stores that are ready can open the next day. More stores will get licensed in the following days.

Snohomish County, Everett and other cities have layered on zoning requirements and other specifications to which retail shops must adhere. Marysville and Monroe are among the jurisdictions that have banned pot retailers outright.

Local public health agencies lack the authority to regulate medical or recreational marijuana, in food or otherwise, said Kristin Kinnamon, a spokeswoman for the Snohomish Health District. Local health officials are, however, warning people of the potential dangers of pot edibles, particularly the risk of accidentally poisoning children.

“While our food safety program is not involved in regulating marijuana-infused foods, pot is still a significant public health concern to (the) Snohomish Health District,” Kinnamon said.

Angel’s pioneering pot truck started life as a 40-foot Freightliner C2 school bus.

Its name, Samich, is slang for sandwich and doubles as an acronym for Savory Accessible Marijuana Infused Culinary Happiness. The menu includes a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, a Vietnamese-style pork sandwich, smoked turkey over corn bread and truffle popcorn — all spiked with THC.

“They’re comfort foods,” Angel said. “I’m a foodie myself and I love great food.”

The Associated Press contributed. Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

The Washington State University Snohomish County Extension building at McCollum Park is located in an area Snohomish County is considering for the location of the Farm and Food Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Year-round indoor farmers market inches closer to reality near Mill Creek

The Snohomish County Farm and Food Center received $5 million in federal funding. The county hopes to begin building in 2026.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.