After more than a decade of debate and contention, the Woodland City Council has approved an ordinance allowing cannabis retail sales within city limits.
The council voted 4-2 on Feb. 2 to adopt the ordinance, which permits cannabis retail as a use in the city’s C-2 Highway Commercial zone. Councilors John Burke and Melissa Doughty voted in opposition. Councilor Douglas Freimarck was excused. The ordinance took effect five days later.
The decision marks a turning point for Woodland, which first implemented a moratorium on retail marijuana in 2013, according to previous reporting by The Reflector. Since then, multiple proposals to allow sales have failed, including zoning changes, advisory ballot discussions and repeated planning commission recommendations.
This time, the outcome reflected a shift in council makeup following the 2025 general election. Newly elected councilors Jennifer De Luz and Brittny Michaelson both campaigned on resolving the cannabis issue and supported the ordinance.
When asked about the outcome of the meeting, De Luz expressed relief.
“I think it’s been a long time coming, and I’m glad that there’s closure,” she said. “Some people might not be happy about it, but I think Woodland spoke with their vote. I really do.”
De Luz cited her father's history with cannabis and why the subject was a part of her campaign.
“I have been a proponent for medicinal marijuana, and this goes back to 1999 when my dad was dying of cancer, and he passed away in 2001. Cannabis was the only thing that helped him,” De Luz said. “And so I know the importance of people having access to their medicine.”
“So one of the reasons why I picked up arms and fought for it is because cannabis has come so far in the medical world,” De Luz added. “It’s not just about pot or buds, right? You have pills, you have balms, you have medicines, people use them for immune disorders. There’s so much more to cannabis than just a recreational drug.”
Compared to meetings related to retail cannabis in 2024, public turnout at last week’s meeting was low, as no community members spoke during the final reading. When asked about the meeting’s turnout, De Luz said community engagement should be the council’s next priority.
“For me, the cannabis was just one of the smallest issues,” she said. “I also ran on citizen engagement, so for me, that is just getting started. We've got thousands of bills up in Olympia that are trying to be pushed through. We need citizenship engaged on the local level, but also the Olympia level and the national level. So this is just one small issue here in Woodland.”
While the ordinance allows cannabis retail in the C-2 zone, it does not approve any specific business. Future retail operations will still require licensing and must comply with existing zoning standards.
