Washington Cannabis Stores Continue to Have Far Higher Youth Compliance Rate Than Alcohol and Tobacco Retailers
- In 2025, Washington marijuana retailers had a youth access compliance rate of 93.2%, significantly higher than liquor retailers (78.1%) and tobacco retailers (85.7%), based on youth access controlled purchase attempts by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB).
- The cannabis industry's youth compliance rate has remained steady over the past decade at 94.3%, outperforming tobacco (86%) and alcohol (80%) since 2015.
- The data challenges the notion that legalizing marijuana increases youth access; licensed marijuana retailers in Washington are more effective at preventing underage sales compared to stores selling alcohol and tobacco.
- Washington’s tightly regulated marijuana market, including age-verification requirements and state oversight, contributes to one of the highest compliance rates among age-restricted industries in the state.
Washington marijuana retailers had a substantially higher youth access compliance rate in 2025 than stores selling alcohol or tobacco, according to data from the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board’s Youth Access Compliance Checks Dashboard. The dashboard tracks youth access controlled purchase attempts conducted by LCB officers at licensed retail locations selling liquor, cannabis, tobacco and vapor products.
In 2025, LCB officers conducted 528 compliance checks at licensed cannabis retailers. Of those, 492 were compliant, giving the industry a compliance rate of 93.2%.
That was far higher than the rate for liquor retailers. According to the dashboard, LCB officers conducted 3,254 checks of liquor retailers in 2025, with 2,543 found to be compliant. That amounts to a compliance rate of 78.1%.
Tobacco retailers also trailed the cannabis industry. Of 2,019 tobacco compliance checks conducted in 2025, 1,730 were compliant, for a rate of 85.7%.
Put another way, Washington cannabis retailers were about 15% more compliant than liquor retailers and roughly 7.5% more compliant than tobacco retailers when it came to youth access checks.
The data from 2025 continues a trend that has remained steady over the past decade. Since 2015, the youth compliance rate for the cannabis industry is 94.3%, compared to 86% for tobacco and 80% for alcohol.
The data undercuts a common argument against regulated marijuana markets: that legalization makes it easier for youth to access cannabis. In Washington, the state’s licensed marijuana retailers appear to be significantly more consistent at blocking underage sales than businesses selling two long-established legal products.
Washington voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2012, with the first licensed stores opening in July 2014. Adults 21 and older may possess up to one ounce of usable marijuana, 16 ounces of marijuana-infused products in solid form, 72 ounces in liquid form and seven grams of marijuana concentrates.
The 2025 compliance numbers also show the effect of a tightly regulated system. Licensed cannabis retailers are subject to age-verification requirements, state oversight and potential penalties for violations. Based on the LCB’s latest youth access data, those rules are translating into one of the highest compliance rates among age-restricted industries in the state.