uthor: Gregory Foster

In addition to work group updates, Chair Annette Hoffmann described her presentation to legislators and the Committee passed a previously tabled motion from the Proficiency Testing Work Group.

There was a lot to unpack in the WSLCB’s first Executive Management Team (EMT) meeting in seven months, but highlights include news that Enforcement Chief Justin Nordhorn would be transitioning to a new role, the Cannabis Regulators Association was formed, and the Marijuana Odor Task Force was unable to hire a consultant.

The WSLCB Board undertook expected rulemaking actions prior to general public comments when a Commissioner on African American Affairs and a retail title certificate holder lobbied to move licenses out of ban and moratorium areas.

The Washington State House Commerce and Gaming Committee convened its fall work session to hear perspectives on cannabis “potency” from WSLCB, committee staff, and industry representatives along with updates from the Cannabis Science Task Force and state university researchers inclusive of public health and prevention community efforts to correlate ingestion of high-THC marijuana with adverse … Continued

In addition to rulemaking updates, WSLCB Board Member Ollie Garrett shared that the agency’s outreach to BIPOC communities would be diminished from five meetings to three, and the Cannabis Advisory Council would not meet as planned.

Committee members learned that “health burdens related to tobacco and vapor products” would remain one of the agency’s top four legislative priorities for the next two years.

A busy week for cannabis-related policymaking lay ahead including activity at the Washington State Legislature, the WSLCB, the State Board of Health, and the Department of Ecology.