Yakima County officials voted Tuesday to place a nonbinding measure on the November ballot, asking residents whether they want to repeal a local ban on cannabis dispensaries.
Washington state legalized recreational marijuana in 2012 after voters approved Initiative 502, but the majority of Yakima County opposed the measure. Around two years later, the Board of Yakima County Commissioners passed its own ban on the production, processing and sale of recreational cannabis.
The city of Yakima also imposed a ban in 2014, but repealed it two years later. The county’s ban only applies to unincorporated areas, so around a dozen retailers operate within Union Gap and Yakima city limits. Roughly 58% of voters upheld the county’s ban in 2017, but now the government needs money.
“I look at this as a matter of us as commissioners doing our due diligence,” Commissioner Kyle Curtis said on Tuesday. “Ensuring that our taxpayers know that there are dollars that are being left on the table, that hopefully, if the advisory vote comes back with a recommendation to remove the ban, that we can access those dollars and put it towards more law enforcement and also addressing addiction.”
According to a news release, the county’s ban prevents it from participating in the state’s per capita share of the cannabis excise tax, which could generate an estimated $400,000 to $500,000 annually.
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Author: Ray Hilbrich
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