Voters in unincorporated areas of Pierce County said no to licensed marijuana businesses in the results of a special election that concluded Tuesday. An advisory ballot measure presented by the County Council asked if the council should allow the production, processing and retail sales of marijuana in approved zones in unincorporated parts of the county. A majority of votes (52.6 percent) in unofficial results opposed such businesses. The results are non-binding but raise the possibility of the council reinstating a ban on retail marijuana operations. The council decided last December to put the question before voters this year at the same time that another council action tentatively repealed the county's ban on the production and selling of marijuana. The council-imposed ban had been in place since November 2013, when the council prohibited state-licensed marijuana businesses until Congress removes pot from the list of federally controlled substances. That position is contrary to Washington law that emerged from statewide approval by voters in 2012 of a legalized market for regulated, recreational use of the drug. A majority of voters in Pierce County sided with that mandate. In December, the council dropped the requirement that in order for sellers of marijuana to obtain county permits, they must prove that marijuana isn't a federal-controlled substance and thus illegal. But the council also ordered the advisory vote in order to have the public's input on whether to allow state-licensed marijuana businesses. Council members Jim McCune, whose district covers south Pierce County, Dan Roach, Joyce McDonald and Doug Richardson voted in favor of putting that question on the ballot. In this month's special election, if voters had reiterated their support of four years ago, recreational pot businesses would have been allowed to open after July 1 this year. But with the majority of votes going the other way, the council now could vote to restore the ban it lifted conditionally. The ballot measure was only for voters in unincorporated parts of the county, since that's where the county regulations are in effect. Voters in towns and cities weren't allowed to vote on the proposal.
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