Yakima, WA Begins Accepting Recreational Retailer Applications

Applications for retail dispensaries in Yakima, Washington open today, but residents remain divided on whether or not they want the shops in the city, according to a report from the local CBS station KIMA.

Five shops total will be allowed to open within the city limits.

“If you ask me if I think marijuana should be legal here in Yakima, I would say no, absolutely not,” resident Phyllis Anderson said in the report.

Donald Kinney, a Yakima County Jail Captain, said the city was losing revenue due to their self-imposed dispensary ban, which didn’t reduce marijuana use anyway. He warned that many of the criminals he interacts with attribute cannabis use to “how they started their criminal history,” but “the city’s moved in the right direction” by allowing legal dispensaries.

The City Council lifted the ban in May by a 4–3 vote. During that meeting, nearly 30 people spoke for or against the measure, which was ultimately decided by three council members who defeated incumbents in the last election, according to a Yakima Herald report.

One dispensary, Happy Time, had operated in the town while the ban was in place. They, along with The M Store, have both been granted licenses to operate in Yakima.