Spokane County, WA Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)
Key Facts
- Retail permitted zones
- Regional Commercial, Light Industrial only
- Retail banned zones
- NC, CC, LDAC, Heavy Industrial, all Rural
- Resource lands (LTA/STA/F)
- Retail sales "N", not permitted
- State license
- Required from WA Liquor and Cannabis Board
- County stance
- "Allows but regulates" per SCC 14.300.100
- Violation penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine, 90 days jail
Summary
Spokane County allows but tightly zones marijuana retail: the use-tables in Title 14 permit it only in Regional Commercial and Light Industrial zones, marking it "not permitted" in Neighborhood and Community Commercial, Heavy Industrial, all Resource Lands zones, and every Rural zone classification.
Marijuana: Means all parts of the plant Cannabis, as defined in title 69.50 RCW as it now exists or may be amended. Marijuana is a controlled substance which requires greater regulatory controls than production and processing of agricultural products that are not controlled substances. Spokane County allows but regulates the production, processing and sale of marijuana and requires marijuana operations not only to be validly licensed by the state but also to comply with local development regulations.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 63).
Full Breakdown
" That regulation takes the form of use-by-zone tables rather than a single standards section. Table 612-1 (Commercial Zones Matrix) marks "Marijuana retail sales" as "N" in Neighborhood Commercial and Community Commercial but "P" in Regional Commercial and "N" in LDA Commercial. Table 614-1 (Industrial Zones Matrix) permits it in Light Industrial ("P") but bans it in Heavy Industrial ("N"). Table 616-1 (Resource Lands Matrix) marks it "N" across Large Tract Agricultural, Small Tract Agricultural and Forest Land, and the Rural Zones Matrix marks it "N" in all five rural classifications.
The practical effect is that a licensed retailer can only locate in a Regional Commercial or Light Industrial zone anywhere in unincorporated Spokane County; every other zone forecloses the use entirely rather than requiring a conditional use permit. 230(11), as a use in the agricultural and forest resource zones subject to hearing-examiner-set setbacks and Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency odor controls.
Violations & Fines
Operating a marijuana retail store in a zone where the use table marks it "N," or without the state license the code requires, is a zoning code violation enforced under SCC 14.408.040: a misdemeanor with up to a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail, or a civil violation beginning at a $200 Level I penalty (or $500 Level II) that accrues an additional $50 for every day the unauthorized retail use continues, appealable to the hearing examiner within 14 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I open a marijuana retail store anywhere in unincorporated Spokane County?
Has Spokane County opted out of marijuana retail like some Washington cities?
Where can marijuana production or processing happen in the county?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Spokane County
Compare Spokane County to another location·View the Washington cannabis regulations overview
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