Packwood is now the only unincorporated community in Lewis County allowed to welcome cannabis shops.
The Board of Lewis County Commissioners on Tuesday passed an ordinance to allow cannabis sales in unincorporated Lewis County in a two-to-one vote.
The approved version is significantly paired down from what was presented to start the Tuesday meeting, after Commissioner Sean Swope offered an amendment to only allow the sales in the Packwood urban growth area.
According to Lewis County Community Planning Director Mindy Brooks, county staff expect that the East Lewis County community could host two cannabis shops at most under county and state zoning guidelines.
Swope and Commissioner Lindsey Pollock voted in favor of the amended version of the ordinance. Commissioner Scott Brummer voted against the ordinance entirely and reiterated previous concerns over exposure to minors.
“When we have additional locations for people to access marijuana, we are going to see increased usage of underage, both children and young adults,” Brummer said. “I find that to be a significant problem when we talk about wanting to protect our children.”
Brummer also commented on the county’s outreach to gauge support for legalizing cannabis sales. He said, despite a poll showing his district with more than 60% in favor of legalization, he had heard from many constituents against the move.
Swope followed up, saying he agreed with keeping marijuana out of the hands of minors, but said he was also concerned with medical access.
Swope first proposed barring new cannabis shops from setting up a business within 25 miles of an existing one or from any city that permits cannabis sales. He added that his intention was to limit new sites to eastern parts of the county, separated from the cities around Interstate 5 that already have shops.
According to Swope, his amendment was inspired by conversations he had ahead of the meeting with owners of existing cannabis shops who shared concerns about losing business to new shops.
Roy Talbott, owner of The Evergreen Egg, the only cannabis shop in Winlock, shared a similar concern during the Tuesday meeting in the form of a question, asking if the county had “thought about what damage it will do to other stores.”
“The reason, to my understanding, to allow this is revenue from the state,” Talbott said. “I don't think that revenue is really going to match what I’m looking at losing in the possibilities of all this.”
Swope also proposed an amendment to dedicate cannabis revenue from the state to law enforcement. The motion failed to gain traction without support from Brummer or Pollock.
The only person to offer public testimony, Lewis County Public Health and Social Services Director Meja Handlen, also asked that the revenue go to law enforcement in hopes that it could free up funding for youth prevention programs.
“We don't want people to use illegal drugs,” Handlen said. “What we do want is an opportunity for youth to have prevention based programs in our community for us to work in conjunction with law enforcement to better public health services.”
According to Handlen, state mental health funding currently used exclusively for law enforcement could be used to fund a previously successful youth prevention program, which she expects to cost around $150,000 a year to operate.
That program was previously funded using settlement payments owed to the state from lawsuits against the tobacco and vaping industry, but those payments have dwindled in recent years, leading to the retirement of the program.
“That tobacco and vape funding that has now been pretty much eliminated did eliminate a very successful program in our community where youth were openly engaged with positive peers and mentors,” Handlen said.
As of December 2025, there were two chapters of a state-run prevention program called the Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative operating in Centralia and Morton, but, according to Handlen, that is minimal compared to the previous county program that covered all of Lewis County.
The Lewis County Board of Commissioners has been considering allowing cannabis-related businesses to operate in unincorporated Lewis County since early 2026 when the move was proposed by staff. The operations allow the state to receive revenue from Washington state, which collects a 37% excise tax on all cannabis sales in the state.
The ordinance as originally drafted headed into the Tuesday meeting specifically removed any allowance for cannabis production or manufacturing while allowing retail businesses in certain zones.
By allowing sales but not manufacturing, the county will be eligible to receive a share of state cannabis tax revenue based on the percentage of sales in the county. It will not be eligible to receive another portion of revenue distributed based on population.
County code previously had provisions for production and manufacturing of cannabis, but required all operators to have a federal license. With cannabis still illegal at the federal level, it functioned as an effective ban on the substance.
Specifically, the original proposal would have allowed the retail businesses in unincorporated Lewis County’s two urban growth areas in Packwood and Onalaska, as well as in a limited number of areas zoned as freeway commercial. In the planning commission's earliest estimates, they expected the zoning to open up enough space for six to seven new shops.
The county restrictions do not apply to cities in Lewis County, which are able to make their own decision on cannabis production, manufacturing and retail. Centralia, Chehalis and Winlock currently host cannabis shops, while both Pe Ell and Toledo also theoretically permit the shops, but do not have any yet.
For previous reporting by The Chronicle on cannabis in Lewis County, visit https://tinyurl.com/4be34fhz.
