Pendleton council to workshop marijuana moratorium
Published 10:00 am Thursday, April 9, 2026
Planning Commission to consider new dispensary Thursday evening
PENDLETON — Residents are invited to participate in a conversation with Pendleton City Council about marijuana businesses in town.
The council is holding a work session Tuesday, April 14, at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall, to explore a pause on new marijuana sellers. The discussion comes after a request in March from Erin Purchase, owner of Kind Leaf Pendleton, to consider a moratorium.
“While I have a direct interest in the cannabis industry, my concern extends beyond my own operations and it centers along long-term market stability, fairness and sustainable local tax revenue,” she said March 3 during the council’s regular meeting.
Purchase said the request is “rooted in current market realities,” such as “substantial oversupply” in the cannabis industry and production outpacing demand. Wholesale and retail prices are at “historical lows,” Purchase added, which have limited profit margins and added to “declining overall local tax revenue.”
Her proposal has seen some support, with a few letters of support submitted to the council.
Resident and county commissioner candidate Eddy J. Antoniello has spoken to Pendleton City Council, as well, initially offering comments opposing the moratorium, but more recently saying he’s open to the idea.
“I’m not in complete opposition to the moratorium,” he said April 7. “I was just saying a fifth (dispensary could) balance out the overstock of cannabis products.”
There is a dispensary in development on the east end of town. Brandon Krenzler, owner of health food restaurant Project Innerbloom, said he’s in the process of establishing a shop in the former Korral Tavern on Highway 11.
His conditional use request will go before the Pendleton Planning Commission in a public hearing Thursday evening, April 9, at 7 p.m. The commission may decide to approve, deny or request modifications to the application. The planning commission’s decision will be final — it doesn’t have to go in front of the whole council — unless there’s an appeal by someone who went on record during the commission meeting.
Meanwhile, Pendleton City Council will explore the moratorium’s pros and cons during the upcoming workshop. Because the new dispensary is already underway and has been in process for a long time, it would be grandfathered in if a moratorium happens.
Mayor McKennon McDonald said members of the public will have the chance to offer input and suggestions during the meeting. The council will make no votes regarding a pause on new cannabis sellers during the workshop.
If members of the council don’t want to move the issue out into regular session, the marijuana moratorium idea will die in the workshop.
