A recent Clark County Council vote opened the door for cannabis shops and other businesses to operate outside of Vancouver and Battle Ground starting January 1, 2020, and several local cannabis dispensary owners appear poised to jump into the ring as early as possible.

Cannabis businesses have been banned in unincorporated Clark County since 2014, but Councilor Temple Lentz’s 2018 election victory appeared to shift the majority opinion of the council toward reexamining that policy, and in July the council voted 3-2 to lift the moratorium.

Two cannabis dispensaries have been announced to open in unincorporated Clark County, and a third appears to be in the works. The first shop is actually a returning business: Sticky’s Pot Shop, which closed in 2018. The second will be a new location for local chain The Herbery, and the third appears to be a brand-new store in Orchards.

Sticky’s situation

Sticky’s Pot Shop in Hazel Dell closed last year after a lengthy fight to stay open despite the county’s ban. Visitors to the store’s website are now greeted by a pop-up message stating that the store will reopen Jan. 1, as soon as the ban ends.

Liquor and Cannabis Board records indicate the shop’s retail cannabis license has been renewed; the current license for the shop at 9411 N.E. Highway 99 shows an issue date of Oct. 3.