USA - Washington

In addition to a rulemaking review, the meeting featured several public comments from cannabis farmers concerned about the impact cannabinoids derived from hemp CBD were having in the state’s cannabis market.

After a ‘hemp’ amendment was withdrawn, legislation swapping the term ‘marijuana’ for the term ‘cannabis’ in State statute was passed by committee members - and still could become law.

The attorney general’s office described the “strict scrutiny” standard federal courts applied to laws utilizing race-based criteria and how that related to the work group’s development of social equity program applicant criteria.

The hemp processor bill was headed to the Governor’s desk, likely followed by some version of the social equity bill, while rulemaking and interim work at WSLCB was ramping up.

Senators adopted committee language for legislation expanding the scope of the State social equity in cannabis efforts - but many Republican members ultimately opposed passing the bill.

With no proposed amendments to legislation forming a hemp processor registry and hemp extract certification, lawmakers offered a final pitch on the bill’s benefits for the hemp sector, securing not quite unanimous approval.

There was no opposition from committee members to recommending a bill which would establish a voluntary hemp processor registration, a hemp extract certification, and limited authority for WSLCB to test hemp.

Legislators would take the week to debate, amend, and vote on legislation from the opposite chamber - but the list of active cannabis-related bills had grown shorter.

Legislation to exempt registered medical cannabis patients from the State excise tax on compliant products received a near unanimous policy committee recommendation, but was not taken up by its fiscal committee.

In a surprise move, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo commandeered the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA) to immediately legalize cannabis in all 51 states, unleashing a wave of creative activity to avert climate catastrophe.