Yakima County Might Change Pot Laws to Cover Unincorporated Areas

It might be a technicality, but in the real "legal" world  it's becoming a potential issue.

Yakima County Commissioners are considering modifying statutes and laws concerning the recently passed pot business bans to cover unincorporated areas of the county.

According to the Walla Walla Union Bulletin,   four marijuana businesses have received operating licenses to conduct marijuana business - and they are located in unincorporated areas of the county.

An unincorporated area usually refers to an area that doesn't  fall under a city or county jurisdiction.  Often, these are sparsely populated areas, and the few people who live there are often allowed more flexibility in their governing.  It's an area that hasn't been formally 'annexed' or taken in by the county.

In this case,  unincorporated areas don't fall under Yakima County business permit laws.    If somebody starts a business in an unincorporated area,  that business license is not reported to officials.   Yakima county officials say there's a significant number of vacant buildings in these areas.  It's entirely possible for someone to legally take over one, and set up a pot related business - and the county would not be notified about it before hand.

So,  officials are considering a new county business licensing system.  It would require a business permit to be issued for any new business anywhere within the county boundaries.  Most U.S. cities and counties receive  monthly updates of new business permits that have been sought or granted, letting them know potential stores and shops that could be coming to the area.

Unless someone tries to open a pot growing, processing, or marijuana store illegally,  this larger county business license system would "alert" officials if any of the four pot licensees were to try to start up.   So far, the four have agreed to abide by the current county ban on all marijuana related business.

Officials in other Eastern Washington counties that have passed pot bans are watching Yakima carefully now, to see what happens; especially ones that don't have a county-wide business license system,  or ones that have a number of unincorporated areas that contain buildings or small communities.