In most Washington cities, getting weed is as easy as pulling on soft pants and wandering down to the neighborhood pot shop. Not so in Federal Way, a city of almost 90,000 at the southern end of King County.
Federal Way is a former logging town that’s now largely suburban. The only reason you’d register that you’re driving through it is the Wild Waves Theme & Water Park on the side of I-5, which looks a bit like Daytona Beach, but tiny and in a parking lot.
Federal Way is also one of the few townships in Washington to ban recreational cannabis: In 2015, after Washington voters approved recreational weed across the state, the residents of Federal Way did exactly the opposite and voted to ban pot shops within city limits. You’d think an area whose main attraction is a water park would see the need for pot shops.
