Rep. Lauren Davis on reversal of Lynnwood cannabis ban: ‘I am very opposed’

State Rep. Lauren Davis joined members of the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Control Board and the Snohomish County Health Department in speaking to the Lynnwood City Council Monday about  the logistics and potential risks of legalizing retail cannabis sales in Lynnwood. 

The council also discussed ways it could spend around $3 million the city is set to receive as part of a state opioid settlement Lynnwood joined in 2022. The state entered the lawsuit involving three major pharmaceutical companies that contributed to the opioid epidemic throughout Washington and nationwide. The money Washington received was split between multiple cities in the state.

Cannabis 

Following the statewide legalization of recreational cannabis in 2012, the Lynnwood City Council voted to ban retail cannabis sales within city limits. Despite several attempts over the years from councilmembers to overturn the ban, cannabis sales are still illegal in Lynnwood. 

In September, the council voted to look into potentially removing the ban. Monday’s meeting was one of several discussions the council has had on the matter since. City staff are working to develop a draft ordinance to repeal the ban, and the council is tentatively set to vote on it in September. 

Council leadership invited Rep. Lauren Davis to speak to the council on the risks and data behind cannabis use. 

Davis, who has a background advocating for policy to address substance use disorder. ,highlighted the changes in the cannabis industry since marijuana was legalized in Washington nearly 13 years ago. The cannabis products sold in retail stores today are far more potent than at the time of legalization, she said. 

“In the fall of 2012 Washington did not legalize cannabis,” she said. “We actually commercialized THC… that’s the psychoactive, intoxicating element in cannabis, and we actually legalized the entire supply chain.” 

She said this enabled the industry to create more addictive, higher-potency plants and products. 

“The products that are sold in Washington state retail outlets today bear almost no resemblance to the cannabis plant,” she said. 

Davis said recent research shows cannabis use among youth can lead to increased risk to both mental and physical health. 

A study of 96,000 adolescents in the Kaiser Permanente Health System in Northern California found youth who lived in a place where cannabis was banned were “significantly less likely to have a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder,” Davis said. On the other hand, children who lived in areas where cannabis sales were permitted had a higher likelihood of receiving such a diagnosis and were more likely to be diagnosed with depression and anxiety.” A similar study done in Washington found similar results, she said. 

State zoning laws and liquor and cannabis board guidelines limit the zones in which cannabis sales could be permitted in Lynnwood. State law requires cannabis retailers to be at least 1,000 feet from “restricted entities,” such as schools, public playgrounds and parks, child care centers, transit centers, libraries or any arcade that isn’t restricted to people over the age of 21.

Even if the council voted to reduce these buffers, which city staff said they have some flexibility to do, cannabis sales in Lynnwood would only be permitted along the northern portion of the Highway 99 corridor and a portion of the Alderwood/City Center area, city documents show. 

The Highway 99 corridor is home to a larger population of immigrants and people of color compared to some other portions of the city, Davis said. 

“We already know that the health impacts will occur,” Davis said. “So to whom are we putting that extra burden?” 

Although cannabis retail sales are illegal in Lynnwood, there are multiple marijuana shops  that sit right on the city’s borders, but technically are outside city limits. Even though the drive isn’t far, Davis said it can decrease cannabis use among youth. 

“Adolescents living within a 10- to 19-minute drive, versus a less-than-five-minute drive, were significantly less likely to have problematic cannabis use,” she said. 

Adults who use cannabis are also more likely to develop symptoms of diagnosis or schizophrenia, she said. Davis said the commonly held belief that there are no cannabis-related deaths isn’t true. 

“There is a new diagnosis that didn’t exist before cannabis legalization called Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome, which is a cyclic vomiting disorder,” she said. “It’s become actually quite prevalent if you talk to emergency department practitioners, and it can be fatal.” 

The syndrome is “uniquely associated” with usage of high-potency cannabis, Davis said. 

She continued to talk about a man from Mount Vernon in his mid-20s who died of a seizure caused by dehydration. 

“His death certificate lists Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome,” she said. “The only way to cure it is to stop using cannabis.” 

Davis noted that up to one-third of schizophrenia cases in young men age 21 to 30 “could be averted” if not for high-potency THC. She concluded that 98% of cannabis consumers in Washington have substance use disorder or are heavy users, and those consumers would likely be the customer base in Lynnwood. 

Snohomish County Healthy Communities Specialist Brittany Bevis-Sciuto echoed Davis’ statements on mental health risks associated with using cannabis. 

“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,” Bevis-Sciuto said. “It’s no longer an association. We are calling it causal, which is really concerning, especially for adolescents whose brains are developing until roughly age 25 and are much more susceptible to these issues.”

When interacting with the community, Bevis-Sciuto said she commonly hears people say cannabis is safe because it’s natural. 

“I’ll tell you there is nothing natural about a concentrate that is 60% to 99% THC,” she said. The cannabis plant, on the other hand, is usually around 10% to 15% THC. 

Approximately 80 other cities in Washington prohibit cannabis sales, according to the Municipal Research and Services Center They include Marysville, Snohomish, Monroe, Kent and SeaTac. 

The health impacts of legalizing cannabis sales will be unequivocal, Davis said, but Lynnwood has a “really unique opportunity to do this right.” 

She continued: “I am very opposed and I wish that Lynnwood were not moving in this direction at all,” she 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.” 

Given high-potency cannabis is associated with higher risk, Councilmember Derica Escamilla asked if the city was able to limit the potency of THC products sold in Lynnwood. 

“There’s nothing in our rules that says a product can be a certain potency… I mean I don’t see why not,” Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board Cannabis Licensing Manager Linda Thompson said. 

If the ban in Lynnwood was lifted, a total of 11 cannabis retail licenses are reserved for the city. 

Councilmember David Parshall expressed concern over supporting cannabis if it were to harm youth and contribute to the city’s mental health crisis.

“I think if we were just having a discussion in Lynnwood about legalizing that 7 to 9% potency, this would be a slam dunk,” Parshall said. “… 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.”

He continued: “If the council is going to push forward on this, let’s do it right,” he said. “There’s always an exciting opportunity when Lynnwood can be a good example for doing things the correct way as opposed to when we can roll over and do things in a negative way.” 

Councilmember Patrick Decker maintained his hard stance against removing the ban. Lynnwood residents are not “greatly inconvenienced by having to go a couple of miles north if they really really need and want cannabis.” 

Councilmember Robert Leutwyler, however, said he wished for similar “passion for public health in other areas,” such as obesity and alcohol use. 

“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. “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.” 

City staff will continue to gather more data on the matter and bring the topic back for another council discussion in July. After that, the issue will go before the Lynnwood Planning Commission and the council will hold another work session and public hearing before final council consideration in September. 

The council will also consider whether to pursue a ballot initiative for community input on potency or other restrictions. 

Opioid settlement funds

Assistant City Administrator Julie Moore and Human Services Coordinator Kyle Ward presented information to the council on the use of opioid settlement funds. Lynnwood joined the “One Washington Opioid Settlement” in May 2022, a framework for distributing funds from pharmaceutical companies involved in the opioid epidemic. The city is set to receive nearly $3.4 million over 17 years, with approximately $1.17 million currently available.

Moore said approved uses for the funds are broad, including treating opioid use disorder, supporting treatment and recovery, connecting people to help, addressing needs of criminal justice-involved persons, pregnant or parenting women, and preventing misuse and overdose. Currently, $400,000 has been approved by the council for medically assisted treatment (MAT) in the jail (not yet spent due to grant funding), and over $42,000 was approved for a shared social worker position.

Ward outlined how other Snohomish County cities have used their funds, such as Everett’s Emergency Medical Opioid Team (EMOTE) program and Monroe’s recovery scholarship bed program. Ward said Lynwood’s Human Needs Assessment identified a “lack of integrated services” at the intersection of mental health, substance use and homelessness. Potential uses for Lynnwood’s funds include supporting the CHANGE program (a jail re-entry program), Narcan training, and funding for community or therapeutic courts.

Moore and Ward proposed issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to external service providers, aiming to fund one or two proposals with a portion of the current funds, possibly $500,000. Moore noted that internal spending is easier, but staff has struggled to find internal city uses that do not supplant existing general fund spending.

Councilmembers debated the RFP approach. Councilmember Parshall said he supported an “opioid funding selection committee” to “depoliticize” the process and ensure objectivity. Councilmember Leutwyler asked about other cities’ committee structures and the possibility of reclaiming the $400,000 MAT jail funds if not used. Councilmember Escamilla suggested creating “buckets” within the RFP to target different areas like youth or housing.

However, Councilmembers George Hurst and Decker said they opposed the RFP. Hurst argued for focusing on “trusted partners” and “internal needs” within Lynnwood, noting that $1.1 million is “insufficient” for an RFP process. The city has “internal needs that are much more important,” he said. 

Councilmember Decker echoed this, calling an RFP an “abdication of my responsibility” as an elected official to outsource budget decisions. He said the council has sufficient knowledge of community needs and could allocate funds “very quickly, very efficiently and very properly” to existing known programs. Decker suggested bypassing a formal RFP process by informing the community and inviting organizations to present their needs to the council, similarly to how the council distributed ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) COVID funding. 

CHANGE Program/Progress House jail re-entry program

The final work session item focused on the CHANGE Program/Progress House Lynnwood Jail Re-Entry Program. Cynthia Fedrick, CEO of Progress House, and Trina Kinney, director of the CHANGE Program, presented alongside Councilmember Hurst.

Hurst suggested the council allocate opioid funds to this organization.

Fredrick said Progress House has served the community for 54 years, recently transitioning to the CHANGE Program to focus on “care for people one-on-one” and address the “revolving door” of incarceration through “human connection.”

The program’s funding, initially secured by Rep. Davis through the state Legislature, is set to expire at the end of July. Davis stated she secured $800,000 in the 2024 legislative session to start the program, based on a successful Kitsap Correctional Facility model with an “81% reduction in recidivism.”

Kinney detailed CHANGE’s approach: building relationships, helping individuals understand their value and providing a “clean slate.” The group acts as “translators” between incarcerated individuals and available medical services and support, she said. The program meets individuals directly at the jail door upon release, provides low-cost meals, assists with clothing, and arranges transportation to transitional housing or home. 

Kinney said the “magic sauce” of the program is its physical presence and belief in participants, fostering hope. She said CHANGE has no time limit on how long they stay with participants, offering an alumni program for “long-term relationships.”

As of January, CHANGE had served 76 participants, with 53 diagnosed with opioid use disorder or co-occurring disorders, and 55.7% securing transitional or permanent housing post-release.

Frederick said the group has received federal funding for three years, and seeks a one-year commitment from Lynnwood. Rep. Davis said even six months of funding would “buy time” to seek other solutions and engage partnering cities.

Hurst said he favors  funding the program for a full year with $372,000 to keep it “alive and viable” until more state funding might appear. The program fulfills former Police Chief Jim Nelson’s promise to make the Lynnwood jail a “life-changing facility” and is an “appropriate use of our settlement funds,” Hurst said. 

Council President Nick Coelho called the program a “slam dunk” for urgent funding and suggested the council look at permanently funding it in the next budget. 

A recording of the full meeting can be found on the city’s website. 

— Contact Ashley at ashley@myedmondsnews.com.