WSLCB - Executive Management Team
(February 26, 2025)

Here are some observations from the Wednesday February 26th Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Executive Management Team (EMT) Public Meeting.

My top 4 takeaways:

• Director of Policy and External Affairs Justin Nordhorn provided a briefing that touched upon the agency Research Program and a new Policy and Rules Manager before addressing rulemaking questions about cross-border sales and children of employees.
  • Nordhorn explained that staff were attempting to build out the links and resources around WSLCB research dashboards with information from other agencies and organizations that was “well rounded and robust” (audio - 1m, video - TVW).
    • Data dashboards were reintroduced in 2025, a decade after the first, short-lived dashboard was established and removed two years later in 2017.
    • Nordhorn observed that their effort was similar to requirements in legislation on WSLCB data dashboards—which was passed by the Washington State House of Representatives on February 12th—”but we're not waiting for that to pass to integrate some of this.” He indicated that the intention was to provide reference to “some of those health related impacts associated with some of our research briefs that we've been putting together and posting.”
    • The datasets included:
      • The Washington State Healthy Youth Survey (HYS)
      • The Washington State Department of Health perinatal dashboard and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
      • The Washington Traffic Safety Commission fatality dashboard, 
      • The National Survey on Drug Use and Health by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
  • Nordhorn also mentioned that the new Policy and Rules Manager would be “Kevin” who had worked on rulemaking at the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (WA LNI), which gave him significant “experience on rule development within the state system, and within health and safety. And so that's going to be a really nice fit for the agency” (audio - 1m, video - TVW).
    • He remarked that they would begin in the role on Monday March 3rd. While he would help the staffing in the Policy and Rules office, Nordhorn noted that Acting Policy and Rules Manager Daniel Jacobs would be on leave in March and again later in the summer, “and that's going to impact the prioritization of some of those rules” active at the agency. This led to a clarifying question from Board Member Pete Holmes on “overlap” between the new manager and Jacobs (audio - 1m, video - TVW).
    • The Policy and Rules Manager role was formerly held by Cassidy West, who left the agency abruptly in early December 2024.
    • While not named specifically, Nordhorn was most likely referring to WA LNI Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) Standards Analyst Kevin Walder.
  • Additionally, Nordhorn touched on two rulemaking projects the board had opened. The first was SB 5376 Implementation, which pertained to cannabis plant waste material, and Nordhorn relayed that staff would “check this, but there may be a statutory provision that we may not be able to adjust” regarding waste disposal regulations (audio - 1m, video - TVW, Rulemaking Project).
    • Following a remark by Holmes, Nordhorn acknowledged a commenter's concern about counting transactions as sales when waste was transported across state borders, given that the bill allowed material to be sold to non-licensed entities including those outside Washington. He promised a review to see if “there may be some provisions in the statute that we need to cross reference to make sure, whether or not we can explore that, or not” (audio - 1m,  video - TVW).
  • Nordhorn addressed concerns and comments regarding the rulemaking for Minors on Wholesale Licensed Premises, in particular about removing the mandatory notification requirement (audio - 2m, video - TVW, Rulemaking Project).
    • Nordhorn reiterated that allowing employees of a licensee to bring their children in hadn’t been part of the temporary coronavirus pandemic allowance for minors on premises. Rule language permitting employees to bring their children to a licensed facility might create “a de facto daycare,” he warned, which could conflict with the statute that new licenses couldn’t be located within 1000 feet of a daycare center.
    • Vollendroff stated that allowing employees to bring children was a different level of policy change than he was anticipating, and he was less comfortable, given that “we're the only state that allows this, period” (audio - 1m, video - TVW).
    • Holmes commented he wanted to know more about the concept of a de facto daycare “because I think that's really what the regs…focus on: if it's a licensed daycare” (audio - 3m, video - TVW).
      • Nordhorn responded, “I thought I would put this out earlier than later” since he expected further dialogue on this point. Vollendroff called the possible expansion a “big step” and he wanted time for officials around the agency to weigh in.
      • Director of Licensing and Regulation Becky Smith conveyed that the statute specifically named a ‘day care center’, which was defined distinctly from residences with “in-home daycare.”
      • Holmes regarded the topic as a “two way communication between licensee and inspection. We just don't want our inspectors to be surprised that…kids are there.”
    • Nordhorn acknowledged the comments, stating, "clearly we're going to be making some modifications to present to the board on this particular issue.”  He returned to whether there would be a reporting requirement for wholesalers, emphasizing the interest of agency staff to track how many licensees engaged in the practice (audio - 1m, video - TVW).
      • At the preceding day’s board caucus, Nordhorn—formerly the Chief of Enforcement at WSLCB—explained that he favored rules that included a notification requirement, even after pushback on including the provision (audio - 4m). This evoked a frank exchange on the matter with board members who felt that requiring licensees to notify the WSLCB whenever children were on premise was unnecessary should the agency allow children to be on premise (audio - 4m, audio - 3m).

• Director of Licensing and Regulation Becky Smith reported that the agency reached out directly to municipalities with cannabis bans and moratoriums to discuss the social equity program, and as a result, staff would be presenting to officials at the City of Lynnwood (audio - 1m, video - TVW).
  • Smith mentioned outreach to local governments in remarks to a legislative committee in December 2024.
  • During the meeting, Smith shared that their outreach began at the urging of Board Member Ollie Garrett, and her staff had contacted mayors and city managers of jurisdictions with restrictions. Their goal was to improve communication and address concerns related to cannabis businesses, Smith added.
  • She indicated Lynnwood officials would receive a presentation from WSLCB staff including Cannabis Manager Linda Thompson, Social Equity Program Manager Aaron Washington, and Case Manager Sarah Worley.  Smith said that the presentation would be the second one that they've done, adding, "so we think that they have some interest in making changes.”
    • In September 2024, Lynnwood City Council Member George Hurst introduced a motion requesting that the Lynnwood Planning Commission research and offer a recommendation to allow cannabis retail stores to locate within the City by March 31st.  The motion was approved 4-3 and reproduced in the meeting minutes:
      • “Moved by George Hurst that the Lynnwood City Council direct the planning commission to conduct a thorough review of the current zoning limitations and restrictions pertaining to retail cannabis within city limits. The planning Commission is further directed to develop a comprehensive set of recommendations that would amend the city's zoning code and regulations to allow for the establishment of retail cannabis stores in designated zones. These recommendations should assume the end of the current ban on retail cannabis within the city of Lynnwood, and they must be presented to the city council no later than March 31st 2025 for further consideration.”
    • City staff briefed the planning commission on February 13th, where members asked about topics like advertising, zoning, and public safety.
    • City staff followed up on Thursday February 27th with responses to commissioner questions and offered multiple zoning recommendations.
    • WSLCB Licensing staff were scheduled to present background on the social equity program to the planning commission on Thursday March 13th, the same day the commission planned to endorse a draft recommendation to the City Council.
    • The draft recommendation would then be presented to the Lynnwood City Council, likely at their Monday March 24th meeting and likely after having undergone review and discussion during their work sessions the week prior.
      • The Lynnwood City Council also discussed their cannabis business ban in November 2020.

• Director of Legislative Relations Marc Webster mentioned the house of origin legislative cutoff and HB 1940 regarding out-of-state ownership, stating that he and Director Will Lukela would be subsequently attending a meeting organized by the prime sponsor.
  • Having reached week seven of the legislative session, Webster reported that they’d pass the second major deadline of the session, the House of Origin Fiscal Committee Cutoff, on Friday February 28th. He acknowledged that it was “pretty difficult this week” reflecting that “house of origin cutoff, and the final week of session, I think, are the weeks that are the most trying for members" (audio - 1m, video - TVW).
  • Turning to HB 1940, which combined an out-of-state ownership allowance with a social equity tax credit, Webster stated that he and Lukela would be meeting that day with the prime sponsor, Representative Melanie Morgan, in addition to  “supporters and detractors” (audio - 1m, video - TVW).
    • The legislation was not recommended ahead of the house of origin fiscal cutoff on Friday February 28th. However, it could be designated “necessary to implement budgets” (NTIB) or considered again during the second half of the legislative biennium, the 60-day session in 2026.

• Director of Communications Brian Smith updated the board on the governor’s media instructions to agencies, the robbery of a cannabis store, and WSLCB presence on Bluesky (audio - 6m, video - TVW).
  • Smith explained that the recently-inaugurated administration of Governor Bob Ferguson had sent a communication about their “approach with how agencies talk with legislators and things on the hill.”
  • Smith said another change was new “parameters for agencies and how we talk to the media and what we do, and so we've established weekly meetings now with the governor's communications director, Brianna Aho, and…they just want to be involved. They want the government speaking as a single entity, because that's how citizens, residents view [the] government, not just individual agencies.” Furthermore, he relayed the desire of the governor’s team to “be in the know, and they want to look for opportunities for when it might be appropriate for the governor or senior staff to be involved in our news stories.” This included relaying when media contacted their office, which meant Smith would be contacting Ferguson’s staff “a lot, cause we don’t typically notify the governor’s office over every call we get, only when we think that there was something—in the past—that there was something that they should know. But she's heard from me three out of the last four days. And so if you compound that across other agencies and things too, they're probably hearing a lot.”
    • In his prior role as Attorney General, Ferguson worked with legislators to  propose ultimately unsuccessful legislation for a “cooling off” period delaying private lobbying by former high-ranking government officials.
  • Kemps Cannabis in Seattle was robbed on February 19th in a “crash-and-grab” incident, Smith told the group. He mentioned that Setracon provided agency-funded security assessments for retailers under contract starting in 2022, and that Fox Q13 contacted WSLCB related to a story about how the firm had “done 65 so far, and there's value there,” in calling attention to a “dangerous public safety thing going on.”
    • Another Kemps Cannabis location was reported robbed on January 15th.
  • Smith concluded with a mention that WSLCB staff would make their first post on Bluesky, a social media platform “similar to Twitter. We never made the transition to X. Just didn’t think it was the right environment for us.” He suggested that state agencies engaging on that platform had “mixed results and mixed feelings about it,” but Bluesky looked more promising. “We had several thousand followers on Twitter when we were…doing it,” Smith said, and with time “we hope to be able to build up a base again too.”
    • Cannabis Observer joined Bluesky in December 2024, and subsequently stopped posting on X.
  • At time of publication, the board had already cancelled their scheduled March EMT meeting, possibly returning to a pattern of reduced insight into agency decisionmaking highlighted by Cannabis Observer Founder Gregory Foster in 2024.  Additionally, members planned to meet on Tuesday March 4th to discuss “Board Efficiencies,” a reference to “conversations about our various meetings, the frequency of those meetings, the content of those meetings, etcetera“ (audio - 1m).