After learning the status of open and upcoming rulemaking as well as several petitions for new projects, board members heard about proposed social equity rules and other agency updates.
A relatively quiet forum produced few remarks or questions on draft changes to cannabis ingredient and processing rules, which aimed to further regulate cannabinoids beyond THC.
The committee heard about a trio of ordinances being drafted by the Seattle Mayor’s office as “first steps” towards changing ownership and worker equity in the city’s cannabis sector.
An expert on cannabis use by young adults provided results for the Washington Young Adult Health Survey before talking through education, prevention, and research topics of concern.
The work group discussed the costs and social equity implications of either a new agriculture program for cannabis production, or a “lift and shift” of the existing WSLCB program to WSDA.
The board rejected a petition to make curbside and walk-up cannabis sales permanent, rescinded another interim policy, and heard public remarks - some apparently “not necessarily helpful.”
An expert briefing on social equity programs was a “depressing" preview of challenges any effort to distinguish applicants by race-based criteria would likely face before a “hostile” federal judiciary.
Following introductions, members contemplated how to improve criminal history checks for social equity applicants and prepared to advise regulators to disregard drug offenses broadly.
The head of the WSDA hemp program presented the basics of hemp harvest reporting, inspections, and remediation before introducing an interim Program Manager.
A new timeline for social equity rules was hypothesized by staff who looked ahead to a plant canopy rule project while responding to an “unprecedented” influx of rulemaking petitions.