Lynnwood nips city cannabis ban in the bud

Published 1:10 pm Tuesday, September 23, 2025

EVERETT — The city of Lynnwood lifted its 10-year ban on retail cannabis Monday and will begin allowing cannabis sales within city limits.

The ordinance allows up to four stores in the city in some areas of Highway 99 and near Alderwood Mall. The council adopted the ordinance by a vote of 5-2, with council members Patrick Decker and David Parshall voting against.

Per state law, dispensaries must be at least 1,000 feet away from elementary schools, secondary schools and public playgrounds. According to the city’s ordinance, dispensaries must also be at least 100 feet away from recreation centers, child care centers, public parks, public transit centers, libraries and game arcades.

Retail cannabis became legal in Washington in 2012, when voters approved a statewide ballot initiative. In 2015, Lynnwood adopted an ordinance prohibiting retail cannabis sales within city limits, citing the drug’s “high potential” for abuse.

But Lynnwood residents haven’t needed to travel far to find a legal cannabis dispensary. At least eight dispensaries are located within one mile of Lynnwood city limits. A cluster of three dispensaries line Highway 99 immediately north of Lynnwood in unincorporated Snohomish County. Another three are clustered in Edmonds and two in Mountlake Terrace. Retail cannabis is legal in all three jurisdictions.

When cannabis became legal in Washington, the state liquor and cannabis board issued four licenses to retailers to open stores in Lynnwood. When Lynnwood banned cannabis sales, the retailers became title certificate holders, and they still hold those certificates today. The city will give priority to the title certificate holders when selecting applicants to open stores in the city.

Josh Estes, of Pacific Northwest Regional Strategies, represents one of the title certificate holders waiting to open business in Lynnwood.

“If Lynnwood truly is a business-friendly city, then how can they prevent entrepreneurs from coming in and operating legal businesses and being a part of the community,” Estes said in an interview Tuesday. “I think that their vote really reflected that sentiment. They opened up the territory and created responsible buffers that will provide the maximum availability of parcels to the title certificate holders.”

The city estimates $100,000 in annual tax revenue by allowing cannabis retailers, Principal Planner Rebecca Samy said at a City Council meeting in April.

In September 2024, council member George Hurst made a motion to direct the planning commission to look into zoning changes to allow for retail cannabis. The motion passed 4-3, with Decker, Parshall and then council Vice President Julieta Altamirano-Crosby voting against. Hurst first proposed a motion in 2021 to repeal the ban, which failed by a vote of 3-4.

“Per a vote of the residents of Washington, the state legalized cannabis,” Hurst said at an April meeting. “This is just a legal business within our city. … We are restricting a business from coming into our city.”

On Monday, Parshall voted against the ordinance because of concerns regarding high-potency cannabis. At a public hearing earlier this month, some community members raised concerns about the health risks of high-potency products for people under the age of 25. According to the state liquor and cannabis board, young people who consume cannabis with high THC concentrations may be at a higher risk of developing mental health disorders or developing cannabis use disorder.

“I have no problem with recreational cannabis,” Parshall said Monday. “I have no problem with medicinal cannabis. I do continue to have a big problem with high-potency cannabis in Lynnwood for many reasons. … I realize that there are some addictive substances that are already sold within the city of Lynnwood. That does not mean that’s a good reason to expand for-profit addiction within the boundaries of Lynnwood.”

The ordinance requires all cannabis retailers within the city to be certified as a medical marijuana provider by the state liquor and cannabis board, per an amendment passed by the council Monday.

“This will require additional staff training for the budtenders to administer and serve medical clients,” council President Nick Coehlo said. “We talk about revenues, but this is more important than that. This is about access to products that people need.”

The council discussed creating a buffer around residential neighborhoods after a resident raised concerns at last month’s public hearing, but the motion ultimately failed by a vote of 2-5.

“It’s unwise to allow cannabis dispensaries to be directly next to residential neighborhoods,” Decker said. “I don’t think that’s what the residents of this community want, and I think you would be incurring the wrath of those residents if you were to allow that.”

The planning commission had recommended a buffer of 300 feet between cannabis retailers and certain entities, including recreation centers, citing concerns about having cannabis businesses near the Alderwood Boys & Girls Club. In 2023, Lynnwood residents protested an opioid treatment center opened just down the street from the Boys & Girls Club. Some council members and residents raised concerns about having both cannabis retailers and the opioid treatment center near the Alderwood Boys & Girls Club. Ultimately, the council decided to reduce the buffer to 100 feet.

“The Alderwood Boys & Girls Club is near and dear and has a special place in my heart, along with the youth,” council member Derica Escamilla said. “I would hate to pass something based on one business, and I wouldn’t be true to myself with how I am in fairness if we were just allowing over concern of one business versus another.”

The city can begin processing cannabis business licenses in five days, Community Planning Manager Karl Almgren said Monday. Estes said he hopes to start seeing cannabis stores open in Lynnwood within six months.

“The ordinance treats them like the legal, normal businesses that they are, and I think that’s the real factor to celebrate here,” he said.

Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.