Prosser Not Happy Having Most of the Benton County Pot Business

Although the School Board cannot pass moratoriums, the City Council can, and that's what school officials and other are hoping will happen.

With the legalization of pot, most of the retail business has flocked to Prosser. Because Kennewick and Richland have indefinite bans on the commercial pot stores, naturally, the business has gone to the next biggest area, Prosser.

School officials have met with City Council members, according to the Daily Sun newspaper online, and are hoping to pass some sort of limit or moratorium on new pot stores. With three of the four marijuana stores having a Prosser address, officials say that's not what the Liquor Control Board or they had in mind.

Already, Altitude and The Bake Shop are open, and a new store, The Garden, is slated to open soon, pending the outcome of this issue.

This subject came up and was discussed with the Liquor Control Board (who oversees the pot industry) when The Garden submitted their application for business and a license.

While this is going on, interestingly enough, the City of Sunnyside is debating reviewing it's moratorium on pot business.

When I-522 was passed, it was determined the language of the initiative did NOT prevent cities and counties from enacting their own pot bans, and it has held up in court numerous times in Kennewick. AG Bob Ferguson also issued a non-legally binding opinion agreeing with that premise. Since then, numerous cities and counties have enacted their own bans, even though the pot business is legal statewide.