Cannabis in Lynnwood: Timeline, council opinions ahead of Sept. 22 vote on city’s ban

Cannabis sales have been illegal in Lynnwood since 2015 due to a ban passed by the city council. Since then, multiple councilmembers have unsuccessfully tried to overturn the ban, the latest effort being a year in the making. The council is scheduled to vote Sept. 22 on whether to make sales legal in the Lynnwood. 

Here’s what to know about the history of cannabis in Lynnwood, why the ban was initiated and where councilmembers stand on the issue. 

Background: 

In 2012, Washington voters approved recreational cannabis use statewide. The Lynnwood City Council at the time, however, placed a set of moratoriums on retail cannabis sales until officially approving a ban in 2015. 

In September 2024, at the request of Councilmember George Hurst, the council directed city staff to look into removing the ban. After a year of research, discussion, public input and deliberation, the council is set next week to take another vote on the matter. 

Click HERE for an interactive map showing cannabis dispensaries near Lynnwood.

What could cannabis retail look like in Lynnwood? 

Lynnwood Planning Manager Karl Almgren at a council meeting earlier this month said retail cannabis could generate about $100,000 in sales taxes for the city annually.

On Sept. 2 the city council reviewed the latest draft cannabis ordinance containing the Lynnwood Planning Commission’s proposed retail cannabis regulations if the council were to overturn Lynnwood’s ban. The commission recommended the following, in addition to state regulations: 

• Zones where sales are permitted: City Center, Alderwood, Alderwood-City Center Transition, Planned Commercial Development, General Commercial and Highway 99 Mixed-Use zones.   

• Distance from “restricted entities:” 300-foot buffer distance from all entities named in state law, except for schools and public playgrounds, in which a 1,000 buffer zone would be required.
• State restricted entities: 
  • Elementary or secondary schools
  • Playgrounds
  • Recreation centers or facilities
  • Child care centers
  • Public parks
  • Public transit centers
  • Libraries
  • Arcades (Where admission isn’t restricted to ages 21+)
• Map of restricted entities in Washington state.

• The commission also recommended adding the city’s planned playgrounds and public parks, including the proposed City Center Park, where Goodwill is currently located along 196th Street. The park is estimated for completion in the early 2030s. 
• Advertisement regulations: Adhere to city and state advertising guidelines that allow local governments to impose further restrictions.  
• Other guidelines: Require cannabis retailers to hold a Lynnwood business license in addition to a state business license. The draft also requires retailers to follow city design, parking and other city standards. 

History of cannabis in Lynnwood: 

May 2011: Former U.S. Attorney for Western Washington John McKay introduced Initiative 502 to allow recreational cannabis use in Washington. 

November 2012: Washington voters approved I-502 by 55.7%. 

2013

June: Lynnwood City Council passed a moratorium on cannabis sales. 

• Why? The council said it needed more time to study the potential impacts of I-502 on the city’s operations. 
• “Given the complexity of the relevant issues, the City needs time to conduct appropriate research and analysis in order to understand the extent and impact of Initiative 502, determine the appropriate regulatory framework for the permitting, licensing and operation of marijuana businesses in the City, and monitor and provide input into the rules being developed by the Liquor Control Board,” an ordinance establishing the moratorium read. 

December: Council extended moratorium. 

2014: Council extended moratorium again in both May and December.  

June 2015: Council passed a ban on retail cannabis sales in Lynnwood. 

• Why? The council cites concern over “secondary effects” of cannabis sales including theft from cannabis stores, bodily harm of residents, costs and risks of increased police enforcement and “negative health, safety, learning and life outcomes for Lynnwood residents.” 

June 2021: Lynnwood council rejected Hurst’s motion to overturn cannabis ban 5-2. 

• At the time, Mayor Christine Frizzell and current councilmember Patrick Decker were on the council, and both voted against the measure. 
• “I’m wondering how often we have to continue to bring it up since it’s come to council so many times in the past,” Frizzell said. 

2024

April: Lynnwood council approved Councilmember Nick Coelho’s motion to look into repealing the cannabis ban 4-3. 

• Voting yes: Josh Binda, Nick Coelho, George Hurst, Shirley Sutton. Voting no: Patrick Decker, David Parshall, Julieta Altamirano-Crosby. 
• “This isn’t about rehashing old debates or getting stuck in the past. It’s about acknowledging that right here, right now we have a chance to move our city forward,” Coelho said. 

May: Lynnwood council approved Councilmember Parshall’s motion to rescind Coelho’s motion  4-3, with Mayor Frizzell breaking a tie vote following Sutton’s resignation.  

• Yes: Frizzell, Altamirano-Crosby, Decker, Parshall. No: Binda, Coelho, Hurst. 

September: Council approves Hurst’s motion directing the Planning Commission to draft an ordinance to overturn the cannabis ban. 

• Yes: Hurst, Binda, Coelho, Escamilla. No: Parshall, Altamirano-Crosby, Decker. 

2025

April: Council reviews the Lynnwood Planning Commission’s recommendations.

June: State Rep. Lauren Davis, members of the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Control Board and members of the Snohomish County Health Department speak to the logistics and potential risks of legalizing cannabis sales in Lynnwood. 

• “I am very opposed and I wish that Lynnwood were not moving in this direction at all,” Davis said. “Because the only way to avoid the type of impacts that I’m describing would be to not legalize cannabis in the City of Lynnwood. However, the research shows that some restrictions are better than none, and the more restrictions the better.”
• Davis, who has a background advocating for policy to address substance use disorder, said cannabis sold in stores now is more potent and addictive than cannabis sold upon statewide legalization in 2012. 
• Davis cited research regarding impacts of cannabis on youth. One study found that youth who lived in a place where cannabis was banned were “significantly less likely to have a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder.” Youth who lived in places where cannabis sales are allowed were more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health disorder, the study said. 
• “We’re now seeing not just an association between high THC products and schizophrenia, but we are seeing a causal link between these two things,” Snohomish County Healthy Communities Specialist Brittany Bevis-Sciuto said. 

July: Cannabis Alliance Executive Director Caitlein Ryan  rebuts Davis’ statements. Lynnwood’s four cannabis license holders provide input on the matter, disclose financial contributions to candidates. 

• Councilmembers Coelho, Binda and Hurst have received campaign donations from Henok Abraha, one of Lynnwood’s cannabis licenseholders. 
• Lynnwood’s cannabis licenseholders: 
  • Abraha, owner of KushKlub, which has locations  in Everett and Shoreline, as well as retail stores in Jersey City, New Jersey; Vancouver, British Columbia and Toronto, Ontario. 
  • Derek Anderson, who holds two Lynnwood licenses. He co-founded The Joint with Shy Sadis but no longer owns or operates the stores.
  • Shy Sadis, current owner of The Joint and Starbuds in Seattle. 
  • Gene Kulinovsky, who no longer holds a license but previously owned Kush21 (formerly Kushman’s) in Mukilteo and another store just outside Lynnwood in unincorporated Snohomish County.

Cannabis Alliance Executive Director Caitlein Rya said cannabis has no known lethal dose and doesn’t directly cause schizophrenia or other mental illnesses. However, she acknowledged it may trigger symptoms in those with a family history of such conditions.

“I’m not here to dismiss the concerns about cannabis or to pretend that there aren’t risks associated with it,” Ryan said. “I do think it is really important that we put those risks in context.”

Where do councilmembers stand? 

Councilmember Binda: Binda has voted in favor of allowing retail sales in cannabis each time a vote has come up on  the council and openly speaks in favor of it. He said the city’s law is outdated and promotes negative stereotypes about certain demographics. 

“I’m so pro cannabis is because I’m pro democracy,” Binda said in July. “I’m pro people. The people of Washington state chose that they would like to have this legalized. …I’m standing up for the voice of the community, advocating on [their] behalf  and making sure that cannabis is legal in Lynnwood.”

Councilmember Coelho: Similarly, Coelho has always voted in favor of cannabis, and has  spearheaded a motion to overturn the ban in the past. He often speaks to the economic benefit cannabis could have on  Lynnwood, bringing small businesses into the city and allowing residents to shop where they live. 

“I would like to remind people that this city voted in a majority to legalize retail cannabis and recreational cannabis,” he said in April. “We’re way past saying ‘no’ to this. This policy has been way out of line with our residents for over a decade.”

Councilmember Decker: Since 2021, Decker has maintained consistency in his opposition to allowing cannabis sales. He has also spoken to the risks of cannabis use, both physically and mentally. Noting that the state health department funds cannabis use prevention efforts, he said he believed it would be counterproductive to allow sales in Lynnwood. 

“Nobody is going to start buying under-the-counter cannabis if we don’t open shops in Lynnwood,” he said in July. “They can get it two miles from here, three miles from here. This isn’t driving anybody into the black market.” 

Councilmember Escamilla: Voted in favor of allowing cannabis sales. She said she believes Lynnwood residents should decide for themselves and wants to shy away from over-governing people. However, she has expressed concerns about the potential effects allowing retail cannabis could have on the city’s youth. 

“We just have to do our best as parents,” she said in July. “If [the youth] want it, they’re going to get it, and they’re going to find it whether we have it in Lynnwood or right across the border in the other towns. So when it comes to cannabis, we’ve just got to be good leaders, good mentors and good parents. At the end of the day, I think we should let adults do what adults are going to do.”

Councilmember Hurst: Hurst led two separate efforts to overturn the retail cannabis ban, both while he was also running for mayor in 2021 and now in 2025. Since a majority of Lynnwood voters approved recreational cannabis in 2012, the council should change city code to reflect their desires, he said. 

“Residents of Washington legalized cannabis,” he said in April. “This is just legal business within our city. We don’t have buffers for sales of alcohol, I just look at this as we are restricting a business from coming into our city.”

Councilmember Leutwyler: Leutwyler has also sided with those in favor of getting rid of the ban. Although he isn’t as outspoken as some of his colleagues, he’s pointed out inconsistencies in the council’s heavy cannabis regulations but not on liquor or tobacco. 

“I think we could all look at statistics around… deaths related to obesity, deaths related to alcohol – and society does drive this to a great extent,” he said in June. “We tried to ban alcohol through a constitutional amendment, and that was eventually taken back because of societal demands. I could say a lot about other areas of public health that are of great importance, but we don’t talk about that, we don’t care about that. We just accept it as business as usual.”

Councilmember Parshall: In both 2024 and 2025, Parshall voted against measures seeking to allow cannabis sales. Although he voted in favor of legalizing cannabis when it was on the ballot in 2012, he said he isn’t as sure it would benefit Lynnwood. He also cited concerns over youth and health impacts.

“I have a really hard time with my conscience voting for something that I know is going to contribute to that mental health crisis that I know is going to be damaging to our youth in Lynnwood,” Parshall said in June. 

Mayor Frizzell: Although Frizzell isn’t a councilmember, she has voted against allowing retail cannabis in Lynnwood when she was on the council in 2021. She voted similarly as mayor to break a tie vote in 2024.

How to watch: Those interested can attend the Sept. 22 meeting in-person at City Hall: 19100 44th Ave W, Lynnwood. The meeting will also be live streamed or available to watch later on the city’s website.

— Contact Ashley at ashley@myedmondsnews.com.