HWY 420, a cannabis retail store, held its grand opening Sept. 19 for its new Poulsbo location, marking the first such business within city limits since the City Council approved in February to allow one store in both the Viking Avenue and Highway 305 zoning districts.
The store is located at 19740 Viking Ave.
“We are honored to be the first cannabis store in Poulsbo,” said Annette Atkinson, owner of HWY 420, which also has a Silverdale location. “The lifting of the moratorium is a positive step for the community, and we look forward to serving local residents with our wide range of high-quality cannabis products.”
The grand opening featured special promotions, discounts and an opportunity for customers to explore the store’s products, a news release says. HWY 420’s Bremerton location recently closed, coinciding with the opening of the Poulsbo shop.
Councilmember Ed Stern cited security concerns as the reason he voted no on allowing cannabis in the city, adding nearby Agate Dreams in Suquamish has a highly secure facility and doesn’t know if the private sector can replicate it. “I could be proven wrong on that,” he said in February. “We’ve invested heavily in substance and addiction treatment. The message we’re sending could be counterintuitive.” He said revenue for the city would be “negligible at best.”
Councilmember Gary McVey, who voted yes, reiterated that cannabis has been legal in Washington for over a decade. He also said he’s heard from local seniors and people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder who use cannabis to help with symptoms and to help them sleep. “It does help us with some additional revenue and that revenue is required to go toward drug education and police enforcement,” he said.
Background
Initiative 502 passed in 2012 with 52% of Poulsbo residents approving the legalization of recreational marijuana. The city passed interim regulations to allow marijuana-related uses (retailers, producers, processors and medical marijuana collective gardens) in 2013 in the Light Industrial zoning district, city documents read. The Planning Commission recommended approval of both in 2014. The council prohibited production, processing and retailing of marijuana, also in 2014.
Last year, the council requested that the Planning Commission make a recommendation on where to allow cannabis retail in the city, per documents.
The commission held a discussion in November of last year. Following staff’s recommendation of allowing it in the C-2 Viking Avenue zoning district, and having questions answered from the state Liquor and Cannabis Board as well as an owner of cannabis retail, it recommended also allowing the use in the C-3 zoning district along Highway 3.
The commission recommended a 1,000-foot buffer to elementary or secondary schools and playgrounds and a 100-foot buffer to recreation center or facility, childcare center, public park, public transit center, library or any game arcade where admission is not restricted to those age 21 or older.
The council received the commission’s recommendation on where to allow cannabis retail in January and asked questions of representatives from the Liquor and Cannabis Board, the police chief and a cannabis retail property owner, documents state.
