Public health officials in Washington state prepared to roll out an unprecedented array of engagements with cannabis stakeholders, targeting budtenders in particular.
Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.
Monday June 9th
WSIPP - Board of Directors Meeting
On Monday at 9:30am PT, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) Board of Directors were scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- WSIPP is a non-partisan public research group located in Olympia, Washington which conducts research at the direction of the Washington State Legislature or the Institute's Board of Directors. Created in 1983, WSIPP has become nationally and internationally recognized for the design, depth, and quality of its research reports and benefit-cost analyses. In the cannabis space, WSIPP researchers were tasked with performance of a multi-decade benefit-cost analysis of the State legalization of cannabis through Initiative 502 (I-502) and ancillary studies in support of that goal.
- Senator Tina Orwall was appointed to the vacant WSIPP Board of Directors seat for a Senate Democrat. Orwall has a background in social work with a focus on mental illness.
- While there were no cannabis-related items on the agenda for the event, staff usually provide an update on their analysis of cannabis in Washington state led by Senior Research Associate Amani Rashid.
DOH YCCTPP - Focus Group - High THC Products
On Monday at 12pm PT, the Washington State Department of Health Youth Cannabis and Commercial Tobacco Prevention Program (DOH YCCTPP) planned to host the first of two focus groups on high THC cannabis products with a group of budtenders.
- [ Event Details ]
- The DOH YCCTPP coordinates resources towards prevention and cessation of commercial tobacco and cannabis use. Regarding cannabis, staff implement the Washington Recovery Help Line, fund the non-profit Washington Poison Center (WAPC), and distribute local grants while creating prevention and education programming such as media campaigns and outreach to priority populations, including adults within cannabis retail environments.
- In September 2024, DOH YCCTPP staff provided a briefing to legislators on some of the group’s work.
- The focus groups were part of the agency response to a provision in the 2024 session law HB 2320 (High THC Products) which read:
- “By July 1, 2025, the department of health must develop an optional training that cannabis retail staff may complete to better understand the health and safety impacts of high THC cannabis products. In developing the optional training, the department of health must consult with cannabis retail staff, cannabis consumers, persons who have been harmed by high THC products, health care providers, prevention professionals, researchers with relevant expertise, behavioral health providers, and representatives of licensed cannabis businesses.”
- At the beginning of 2025, DOH YCCTPP staff implemented another mandate from HB 2320 requiring cannabis retailers to prominently post warning signs about asserted risks of “High-THC Cannabis Products” at all points of sale. Despite a generous statutory grant of time and resources to complete the work—which included coordination with WSLCB Public Health Education Liaison Kristen Haley and the WSLCB Research Program, but no one from the cannabis sector—DOH YCCTPP staff effectively granted retailers one day to come into compliance with the new requirement which was presented with little explanation and no provision of time for training retail staff to respond to customer inquiries.
- DOH YCCTPP extended an existing contract with the Rede Group to develop the optional budtender training regime.
- The Rede Group, an assumed business name (ABN) of Oregon-based Health Policy Solutions NW, is a limited liability corporation (LLC) which researches and evaluates“programs, policies, and system changes in a variety of fields” at the intersection of public health and controlled substances. For many years, the firm had been contracted by DOH YCCTPP to design required training curricula for their staff and grantees, organizing webinars and creating materials for participants.
- In the past, Cannabis Observer attempted to observe Rede Group webinars, which often feature public officials acting in their official capacity, but our participation was purposefully denied.
- At publication time, the Rede Group qualified their event announcements with the statement: “These sessions are for the YCCTPP, as well as other DOH contractors, subcontractors, and partners, including prevention and research partners. It is not open to anyone from the Cannabis industry.”
- The Rede Group also organized the annual CannAct conference, “a public health - cannabis action conference,” having hosted the 2025 event one week prior.
- The event convenes participants from around the United States including “public health professionals, prevention specialists, equity advocates, public safety professionals, tobacco prevention professionals, partners, and other advocates together virtually to discuss the new and changing legalized cannabis landscape in our communities. The conference focus is policy, system and environmental change, and youth prevention.”
- In 2025, Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA) Executive Director Gillian Schauer returned as a keynote speaker at the event.
- Schauer’s background in public health policy includes work as an Affiliate Research Scientist at the University of Washington Addictions, Drug, and Alcohol Institute (UW ADAI) beginning in 2019.
- At publication time, the Rede Group retained the distinction of being the only organization to ever threaten Cannabis Observer with legal action after we observed and reported on Schauer’s keynote at the 2021 conference.
- The Rede Group, an assumed business name (ABN) of Oregon-based Health Policy Solutions NW, is a limited liability corporation (LLC) which researches and evaluates“programs, policies, and system changes in a variety of fields” at the intersection of public health and controlled substances. For many years, the firm had been contracted by DOH YCCTPP to design required training curricula for their staff and grantees, organizing webinars and creating materials for participants.
- Uncharacteristically, the Rede Group planned to host two focus groups with cannabis stakeholders: Monday’s session would recruit budtenders while retailers (presumably license owners or their designees) would be granted an opportunity to be heard on Wednesday June 11th.
- The event flyer for Monday signaled organizers hoped to hear about budtender “experience with…High-THC Cannabis products…Customer interactions…Workplace practices.” It was claimed that “Focus group info will be used to develop educational training and tools for your fellow budtenders in non-medical retail settings across Washington state.” Participation was encouraged by the offer of “a $75 VISA gift card.”
- Members of the public were also invited to complete an online survey managed by the WSLCB Research Program regarding “budtenders, lab testing results, and perceptions of LCB” which would remain open through Friday June 13th. The frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the survey signaled that WSLCB staff were taking an active role in the elaboration of the budtender training regime, a subject that WSLCB Research Program Manager Sarah Okey had promoted when inviting a research colleague to present a survey of state-level training programs to agency leadership in September 2024.
- More characteristically, the Rede Group planned to host a DOH YCCTPP training webinar the following week on Wednesday June 18th described as a “Preview of high-THC training for retail cannabis workers (budtenders): What you need to know and how you can help.”
- Per their webinar policy, “anyone from the Cannabis industry” was not welcome to learn what they needed to know about the prospective DOH training regime, nor offer to help.
- DOH YCCTPP was statutorily required to offer the training regime to cannabis retailers and budtenders by July 1st. At publication time, it remained unclear what form the training regime would take, who would be tasked with conducting the training, and what associated costs might be entailed - much less what the content would be.
Tuesday June 10th
CANNRA External Stakeholder Meeting
- [ Conference Details ]
- The Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA) is a national organization of cannabis regulators and state and territorial agency partners which describes its mission as seeking to "...to convene, educate, and support government jurisdictions responsible for implementing cannabis and cannabinoid policies and regulations. We do this by fostering collaboration and coordination to identify and share best practices that safeguard public health and consumer safety, promote equity, and create regulatory certainty."
- CANNRA staff including Executive Director Gillian Schauer annually host an External Stakeholder Meeting intended “to bring together a diverse array of national and international stakeholders in cannabis and cannabinoid policy, representing a range of perspectives and opinions, to engage in discussions with CANNRA member regulators and other attendees on cannabis and cannabinoid regulatory and policy topics. We purposefully seek to avoid an echo chamber and to engage groups that have differing viewpoints.”
- The 2025 event was scheduled in Denver, Colorado for Tuesday June 10th and Wednesday June 11th.
- While its membership is composed entirely of public officials, CANNRA was structured as a private non-profit association and therefore did not appear to be subject to the transparency requirements of member states. The group had been media shy but opened up somewhat in 2024, allowing selected journalists to a pre-event briefing and then allowing at least one representative of a national outlet to observe the event. As well, staff allegedly recorded parts of the event and intended to make the recordings available to vetted requestors.
- CANNRA staff denied Cannabis Observer’s request to attend the pre-event briefing in 2024.
- Cannabis Observer communicated with Schauer about the recordings, and was told they were of poor quality and entailed processing. We offered to process the recordings for free—as that is a fundamental aspect of our work as observers—but Schauer did not accept our offer of help.
- At publication time, the status of the 2024 CANNRA external stakeholder meeting recordings remained unknown to Cannabis Observer and we had been unable to identify any media coverage of the event.
- When the date for the 2025 event was announced, Cannabis Observer reached out anew, but Schauer denied our request again, conveying a more refined organization policy that “press attendance is limited to verified national and international press outlets that are independent of industry funding or support” for both the pre-event briefing and the event itself. There was no indication the event proceedings would be recorded.
WSLCB - Board Caucus
The weekly Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Board Caucus was cancelled.
- [ Event Details ]
- In keeping with “Board Efficiencies” implemented in March, the weekly board caucus cadence was changed to every other week and 25 public meetings planned for the calendar year were cancelled.
- The first public hearing separate from a WSLCB Board Meeting was hosted on Thursday June 5th regarding the Minors on Wholesale Licensed Premises rulemaking project.
- While professionally conducted by Policy and Rules staff, no board members were in attendance at the public meeting and TVW did not broadcast the event - a marked change from the context of board meetings where commenters during public hearings would directly address board members and the broadcast medium would expand the reach of information shared.
- While a recording of the event was made by agency staff, it had not been shared outside the agency at publication time. Cannabis Observer’s topically segmented audio recording was published within the hour after the conclusion of the event.
Wednesday June 11th
DOH - Training - Medical Cannabis Registry - Retailers
On Wednesday at 8:30am PT, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Medical Cannabis Program planned to conduct a training on the revamped Medical Cannabis Registry.
- [ Event Details ]
- A completely separate group of staffers at DOH were responsible for managing the medical cannabis program, and had undertaken the replacement of the problematic Airlift patient registration platform with a new Medical Cannabis Registry:
- “We will soon transition to a brand-new patient registry called the Medical Cannabis Registry (MCR or registry), that will replace the current Airlift system. While this will be a major transition, the new system vastly improves and expands the capacity of Airlift. It retains the current roles and tasks of the endorsed stores, while adding accounts and services for patients. We believe you will come to appreciate the increased functionality and automation the new registry offers!“
- Over the following two weeks, DOH medical cannabis program staff had prepared 25 training opportunities for six different constituencies.
- Retail Medical Cannabis “Consultants”
- Retailers (“Store Owners/Delegates”)
- “Budtenders” (and non-consultant “Employees”)
- “Patients”
- “Law Enforcement”
- “Healthcare Providers”
- At publication time, the transition to the new MCR was scheduled for July 1st. Access the full list of training opportunities on the DOH or Cannabis Observer website.
WSLCB - Public Health Roundtable
On Wednesday at 10am PT, leadership and staff at WSLCB planned to host a “Public Health Roundtable for the Cannabis Community.”
- [ Event Details ]
- Public Health Education Liaison Kristen Haley hosted focus groups on high-THC cannabis products in 2024 with public health, prevention, and cannabis sector representatives.
- While agency staff had long provided public health and prevention communities with private opportunities to engage with agency leadership—and continued to do so at publication time—the events in 2024 were innovative for bringing together selected individuals from across communities to attempt to bridge gaps and hear one another’s concerns.
- While the initial “industry” focus groups had been open, subsequent combined focus groups were closed. Cannabis Observer was not invited to participate.
- Haley seemed to have been inspired to learn that the selected cannabis sector representatives displayed many of the same concerns about public health and product safety issues as public health and prevention advocates themselves.
- While agency staff had long provided public health and prevention communities with private opportunities to engage with agency leadership—and continued to do so at publication time—the events in 2024 were innovative for bringing together selected individuals from across communities to attempt to bridge gaps and hear one another’s concerns.
- In early 2025, Haley coordinated with Board Chair Jim Vollendroff and Director William Lukela to structure a new approach to public health roundtables.
- According to emails seen by Cannabis Observer, the trio arranged to continue the closed public health and prevention roundtables while creating a new public health roundtable for cannabis sector representatives.
- In contrast to the legacy roundtables, the cannabis sector roundtables appeared to be open events and would likely be recorded by agency staff.
- Perhaps unusually, Board Members Ollie Garrett and Pete Holmes were not included in the initial planning for the revised events. After the plan was developed and potential dates coordinated by administrative staff, Garrett and Holmes were given the option to choose which events they would like to co-host.
- Staff planned to host two events each for the public health and prevention communities on the one hand, and the cannabis sector on the other. Then a combined event was scheduled towards the end of the year.
- At publication time, it remained unclear if the combined event would be open or closed, and whether participants would be screened by WSLCB staff.
- According to emails seen by Cannabis Observer, the trio arranged to continue the closed public health and prevention roundtables while creating a new public health roundtable for cannabis sector representatives.
- Haley sent the following invitation to an undisclosed group of recipients on May 22nd. She encouraged recipients to share the information with their “networks.”
- “On Wednesday, June 11th from 10 to 11:30 AM, the Liquor and Cannabis Board will be hosting our first Public Health Roundtable for the Cannabis Community. This first round table will be co-hosted by Board Member, Ollie Garrett and Public Health Education Liaison, Kristen Haley.
- “Co-hosts will work with attendees to generate an agenda at the beginning of the call to tailor the Roundtable based on attendee preference and interest areas within the space of public health and cannabis.”
DOH - Training - Medical Cannabis Registry - Budtenders
On Wednesday at 10:30am PT, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Medical Cannabis Program planned to conduct a training on the revamped Medical Cannabis Registry.
- [ Event Details ]
- Training for budtenders was also geared towards retail employees more generally.
DOH YCCTPP - Focus Group - High THC Products
On Wednesday at 12pm PT, the Washington State Department of Health Youth Cannabis and Commercial Tobacco Prevention Program (DOH YCCTPP) planned to host the second of two focus groups on high THC cannabis products.
- [ Event Details ]
- While the focus group on Monday was open to budtenders, the event on Wednesday was intended for retailers, presumably business owners or their designees.
DOH - Training - Medical Cannabis Registry - Patients
On Wednesday at 1pm PT, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Medical Cannabis Program planned to conduct a training on the revamped Medical Cannabis Registry.
- [ Event Details ]
- The patient training was also geared towards designated providers.
WSLCB - Executive Management Team
On Wednesday at 1:30pm PT, the three-member Board and agency leadership were scheduled to convene their monthly WSLCB Executive Management Team (EMT) meeting.
- [ Event Details ]
- During the EMT on May 14th, discussion between the board and staff touched on a cannabis market study, future agency request legislation, social equity, licensing delays, research data, and legislative implementation.
DOH - Training - Medical Cannabis Registry - Consultants A
On Wednesday at 3:30pm PT, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Medical Cannabis Program planned to conduct a training on the revamped Medical Cannabis Registry.
- [ Event Details ]
- Training for consultants was divided into two parts (A and B); this event covers part A.
DOH - Training - Medical Cannabis Registry - Retailers
On Wednesday at 6pm PT, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Medical Cannabis Program planned to conduct a training on the revamped Medical Cannabis Registry.
- [ Event Details ]
- Training for retailers was intended for licensed business owners or their representatives.
Thursday June 12th
DOH - Training - Medical Cannabis Registry - Healthcare Providers
On Thursday at 8:30am PT, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Medical Cannabis Program planned to conduct a training on the revamped Medical Cannabis Registry.
- [ Event Details ]
DOH - Training - Medical Cannabis Registry - Consultants A
On Thursday at 10am PT, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Medical Cannabis Program planned to conduct a training on the revamped Medical Cannabis Registry.
- [ Event Details ]
- Training for consultants was divided into two parts (A and B); this event covers part A.
DOH - Training - Medical Cannabis Registry - Consultants B
On Thursday at 3:30pm PT, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Medical Cannabis Program planned to conduct a training on the revamped Medical Cannabis Registry.
- [ Event Details ]
- Training for consultants was divided into two parts (A and B); this event covers part B.
Friday June 13th
DOH - Training - Medical Cannabis Registry - Law Enforcement
On Friday at 10am PT, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Medical Cannabis Program planned to conduct a training on the revamped Medical Cannabis Registry.
- [ Event Details ]
DOH - Training - Medical Cannabis Registry - Consultants B
On Friday at 10am PT, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Medical Cannabis Program planned to conduct a training on the revamped Medical Cannabis Registry.
- [ Event Details ]
- Training for consultants was divided into two parts (A and B); this event covers part B.
DOH - Training - Medical Cannabis Registry - Budtenders
On Friday at 1pm PT, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Medical Cannabis Program planned to conduct a training on the revamped Medical Cannabis Registry.
- [ Event Details ]
- Training for budtenders was also geared towards retail employees more generally.
DOH - Training - Medical Cannabis Registry - Retailers
On Friday at 3:30pm PT, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Medical Cannabis Program planned to conduct a training on the revamped Medical Cannabis Registry.
- [ Event Details ]
- Training for retailers was intended for licensed business owners or their representatives.
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