Originally published Monday, March 4, 2013 at 11:08 AM

Washington state received so many bids for the new position of marijuana consultant that officials are delaying the announcement of a winner.
OLYMPIA, Wash. —
Washington state received so many bids for the new position of marijuana consultant that officials are delaying the announcement of a winner.

Liquor Control Board spokesman Mikhail Carpenter says there were 98 applications for the job, which entails advising the board on rules governing Washington’s new legal marijuana industry. The state’s voters last fall passed Initiative 502, which legalized up to an ounce of marijuana for adults over 21 and called for a system of state-licensed growers, processors and retailers.

The board had planned to announce the presumptive winning bid on Tuesday, but Carpenter says it’s taking a while to through the bids. The board says it doesn’t expect to announce the winner before March 13.