WSLCB - Board Caucus
(March 26, 2024)

Here are some observations from the Tuesday March 26th Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Board Caucus.

My top 3 takeaways:

• With rulemaking for major 2023 cannabis bills still not completed, Policy and Rules Manager Cassidy West planned to start strategizing rulemaking implementation on 2024 legislation later in the spring (audio - 1m, video - TVW).
  • Completed rulemaking projects in 2023 and early 2024 consisted entirely of alcohol legislation and a petition, while cannabis-centered efforts experienced delays throughout 2023. At publication time and since West stepped into the management role in the fall of 2023, no cannabis rulemaking had been completed.
  • In caucus, West observed that “there were a lot of bills that were passed,” and that she anticipated providing an update on either April 24th or May 10th, by which point she planned to have “strategy implementation timelines and all of that.”
  • Cannabis legislation passed in 2024 which expressly mentioned rulemaking involving WSLCB included:
    • SB 5376 - "Allowing the sale of cannabis waste."
      • Section 1(5) stated the board “may adopt rules necessary to implement” the bill. Other provisions were contingent upon WSLCB rules on cannabis waste, as well as RCW 70A.300.
    • HB 1249 - “Regarding limits on the sale and possession of retail cannabis products.”
      • Although the law doesn’t mandate rulemaking by WSLCB, by creating a new category of low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) beverages, the language creates inconsistencies with cannabis rule definitions and requirements for packaging that would need to be addressed in a rulemaking project.
    • HB 2151 - “Reassigning the accreditation of private cannabis testing laboratories from the department of ecology to the department of agriculture.”
      • According to the session law text, WSLCB representatives must consult with the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) on that department’s rulemaking.
      • At a March 14th webinar, WSDA staff said they expected existing WSLCB rules on accreditation to be used until the end of 2024.
    • While HB 2320 (“Concerning high THC cannabis products”) would require licensed retailers to post additional signage developed by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), nothing in the bill suggested new rulemaking would be needed by the board.
      • At publication time, the Washington State Office of the Governor had not scheduled HB 2320 for action, possibly due to concern about a contentious provision on research and development of clinical guidance due to a mismatch between the legislation requirements and the operating budget language following a last minute change on the final day of the 2024 regular session.

• Several swift rulemaking updates by West indicated public engagements for 2023 legislation and product samples were scheduled or being planned for April and May of 2024.
  • SB 5367 Implementation (audio - 1m, video - TVW, Rulemaking Project)
    • West mentioned that the first of six focus groups on the draft rule text for 2023 THC regulations was scheduled for later that day. Each of the sessions would “focus on a different topic or different rule sections, and topics that are affected by the legislation,” with “two identical sessions for each series,” she said. The first focus group would look at “amendments to the definition section, and then also how this impacts medical cannabis endorsements,” with West noting a second meeting that week on Thursday March 28th.
  • SB 5080 Implementation (audio - <1m, video - TVW, Rulemaking Project)
    • Social equity changes were still “on track.” West anticipated scheduling focus groups in April and May, though her team was still trying to “finalize some stakeholder questions that will be discussed.”
  • Product Samples (audio - <1m, video - TVW, Rulemaking Project)
    • West forecast internal draft rules would be publicly released in the "next few weeks,” with public engagements to be scheduled in May.
  • Retail Medical Cannabis Endorsements (audio - <1m, video - TVW, Rulemaking Project)
    • Led by Policy and Rules Coordinator Daniel Jacobs, West said this petition had some overlap with the implementation of SB 5367, “but we're going to clarify that this afternoon.” She explained that while he’d planned to present a CR-102 on the project at the April 10th board meeting, that meeting had been cancelled due to an anticipated lack of quorum and she anticipated Jacobs would instead present on April 24th.
    • Find out more from the WSLCB focus group on March 11th.
  • Minors on Wholesale Licensed Premises (audio - <1m, video - TVW, Rulemaking Project)
    • Policy and Rules Coordinator Denise Laflamme presented the CR-101 and received board approval on February 28th. West commented that Laflamme would have draft language “in June, and then the next steps for that will be holding stakeholder engagement.”
  • Payment Terms (audio - <1m, video - TVW, Rulemaking Petition)
    • Another petition implementation led by Jacobs, West said her colleague planned to offer a CR-101 to start the project on April 24th, but “we may push that back just because he has a lot that day.”

• A new petition on banning disposable vapor product cartridges was submitted to the agency.
  • West reported that on March 24th a petition for rulemaking was filed with the board to ban disposable cartridges (audio - <1m, video - TVW).
  • Board Chair David Postman commented that he’d “noticed a story or two in the cannabis press yesterday about…health impacts of vape cartridges” (audio - <1m, video - TVW).
  • Board Member Jim Vollendroff asked for any data on the volume of disposable versus refillable vape cartridges being sold. “This was brought to my attention a while back and I've been doing some research on my own,” he said, “but I’d be curious to know what is happening here in the state” (audio - <1m, video - TVW).
  • The safety of vapor cartridges was a top concern in the fall of 2019, when a series of cases of vaping-associate lung injuries impacted Washington and other states, and resulted in new rules on the products by officials.