The Week Ahead
(October 26, 2020)

Washington State Legislative Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis - Membership

The first meeting of the Washington State Legislative Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis led a densely packed week of policy activity at WSLCB, WSDA, DOE, and local jurisdictions.

Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on Cannabis Observer’s calendars in the week ahead.

Monday October 26th

On Monday at 9:30am PT, the Washington State Legislative Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis (WA Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis) was scheduled to convene its inaugural public meeting.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • The Washington State Legislative Task Force on Social Equity in Marijuana was established during the 2020 legislative session as part of HB 2870. The purpose of the task force is to make recommendations to the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) including but not limited to establishing a social equity program for the issuance and reissuance of existing retail marijuana licenses, and to advise the Governor and the Legislature on policies that will facilitate development of a marijuana social equity program. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House were responsible for appointing 18 members to the task force.
  • In October 2020, the Task Force’s page on the Washington State Governor’s Interagency Council on Health Disparities website was edited to rename the group the Washington State Legislative Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis. A Note About Language was appended to explain: “Statute refers to this Task Force as the Social Equity in Marijuana Task Force. The Governor’s Interagency Council on Health Disparities is committed to using language that respects and honors the communities that this Task Force is created to serve. We have heard from community members that the word marijuana is racist, derogatory, and inflammatory. Historically, the word marijuana was used by American prohibitionists, along with the false perception that crime was linked to people of color, to exploit racism and xenophobia (Amy Loriaux, Marijuana and Racism: A History). Therefore, while referring to this Task Force and the social equity work that it has been charged with, the Council will use the term cannabis.”
  • The first full-day meeting of the Task Force will initially be chaired by Benjamin Danielson, who fulfills that role for the Interagency Council on Health Disparities and co-chaired the Office of Equity Task Force. In meetings we’ve observed, Danielson encourages members to introduce themselves with an ice breaker question that often elicits moving personal testimony. Council Staff Christy Curwick Hoff will provide background on the Task Force’s charge before Danielson moderates the first hour allotted to public comment.
  • After a brief lunch window, WSLCB Board Member Ollie Garrett, the agency’s appointee to the Task Force, will describe “Community Comments at Liquor and Cannabis Board Social Equity Events,” a series of three engagements with black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities. Task force business, including election of Co-Chairs, will occupy the remainder of the early afternoon before a break.
  • On return, task force members will participate in a “Data Briefing and Discussion [on] Disproportionately Impacted Areas” including research presented by Alexes Harris and Michele Cadigan of the University of Washington. One of the primary responsibilities of the Task Force is definition of the term “Disproportionately Impacted Areas” as statute declares valid applications for social equity retail licenses must have “majority ownership and control by at least one individual who: (1) has resided in a disproportionately impacted area for at least five of the preceding 10 years; or (2) has been convicted of a misdemeanor marijuana offense or is a family member of such an individual.”

On Monday at 10am PT, the WSLCB COVID Legal/Policy/Rules Meeting was scheduled to recur.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Agency staff leadership, Board Chair Jane Rushford, and Assistant Attorney General Bruce Turcott convene multiple times per week via webinar to discuss policy-related questions raised in the context of the pandemic.
  • Originally having met daily every work day, the schedule of meetings was shifted to 3x per week (M, W, F) on June 10th.
  • It’s Cannabis Observer’s understanding that the cadence for these meetings has been further stepped down, but we have not yet been able to confirm the current schedule.

Tuesday October 27th

On Tuesday at 9am PT, the Chelan County Board of County Commissioners were scheduled to convene their weekly Board Meeting.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • At 10:15am PT, the three elected Chelan County Commissioners were scheduled to hear a “Cannabis operations update” from Community Development Director Jim Brown.
    • The day before, the Commissioners were scheduled to take action on “Approval of General Release and Settlement with Grandpa Bud,” a reference to Grandpa Bud LLC v. Chelan County Washington (2:19-cv-00051-RMP), a case decided in May in favor of Chelan County on appeal in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
    • Brown’s update may include details on the County’s prospective hemp moratorium postponed in late July. A public records request turned up the draft language of the ordinance.
    • Brown’s update may also include perspective on WSLCB-licensed processors in operation prior to the County’s marijuana moratorium, businesses which were allowed to continue but without fire code assistance from the County. The WSLCB rule requiring local fire code officials to inspect extraction operations was at issue in a recent petition for rulemaking denied by the WSLCB Board.

On Tuesday at 10am PT, the weekly WSLCB Board Caucus was scheduled to recur.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Board members will prepare to undertake formal rulemaking during Wednesday’s Board Meeting.

On Tuesday at 1pm PT, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) Marijuana Infused Edibles (MIEs) Work Group was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Cannabis Observer reached out to the WSDA Food Safety Program tasked with regulating MIEs and learned that this will be the first outreach to MIE stakeholders under the leadership of Program Manager David Smith. We obtained the consent of WSDA to observe and record the proceedings.
  • During the 2020 legislative session, an expansion of the MIE program to include products requiring refrigeration was proposed in HB 2726. The bill was heard in committee but not advanced. Cannabis Observer recently received the WSLCB’s internal analyses of HB 2726 from policy and rules, prevention and public health, and licensing perspectives.
    • Cannabis Observer sponsors obtain access to public records we request as we receive them.

Wednesday October 28th

On Wednesday at 9am PT, the Department of Ecology (DOE) Cannabis Science Task Force (CSTF) Steering Committee was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Committee members will hear updates from the CSTF Proficiency Testing, Potency, and Heavy Metals work groups.
  • On November 18th, the WSLCB will host a public hearing on the Quality Control (QC) Testing and Product Requirements rulemaking project. While WSLCB staff take pains to distinguish the CSTF’s primary goal of effecting the transfer of responsibility for testing lab accreditation to the Department of Ecology, the scope of the CSTF also includes standardization of lab testing processes. Given the extended time frame for proposed implementation of controversial revisions to the WSLCB’s testing regime for cannabis products, it may be worth considering the 2024 deadline for implementation of the CSTF’s work will likely transform the Washington state cannabis economy again.

On Wednesday at 10am PT, the WSLCB COVID Legal/Policy/Rules Meeting was scheduled to recur.

On Wednesday at 10am PT, the bi-weekly WSLCB Board Meeting was scheduled to recur.

The weekly WSLCB Executive Management Team (EMT) meeting was cancelled.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • The last 6 regularly scheduled EMT meetings have been cancelled. Although still listed as a weekly event, the Board had indicated these meetings would be hosted monthly through the end of the calendar year.
  • The EMT last convened on September 16th after a 7-month hiatus. During the July 16th caucus, Board Chair Jane Rushford said “I feel it's important that we bring [EMTs] back” (audio - 2m). At the August 4th caucus, Rushford said EMT meetings would be renewed in September and run "once a month" through the end of the year (audio - 3m).
  • During the September 29th board caucus, Chair Jane Rushford mentioned her interest in focusing the next EMT “mid-month” on the agency’s social equity efforts. All opportunities to convene the EMT in October have passed.

Thursday October 29th

On Thursday at 10am PT, the monthly WSLCB Marijuana Traceability Project (MTP) Integrator Work Session was scheduled to recur.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Although no agenda items were accepted, WSLCB staff still wanted to convene the often cancelled monthly Integrator Work Session, noting “(Mj Freeway is not scheudled [sic] to attend).”
  • Agency technologists may want to discuss deliberations which occurred at the WSLCB Traceability 2.0 Work Group meeting on October 9th.

On Thursday at 11am PT, a Northwest Prevention Technology Transfer Center (NW PTTC) Webinar on the “Pharmacology of Cannabis” was scheduled to occur.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • From the event description: The presenter will cover how cannabis addiction impacts major brain regions and the acute and chronic symptoms associated with cannabis use. Specific features of cannabis dependence and withdrawal will be discussed specifically symptoms that occur when a person is discontinuing its use.
  • Established in 2018 and federally-funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the purpose of the Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Network is to improve implementation and delivery of effective substance abuse prevention interventions, and provide training and technical assistance services to the substance abuse prevention field. The PTTC Network is comprised of 10 Domestic Regional Centers, 2 National Focus Area Centers, and a Network Coordinating Office.
  • The Northwest Prevention Technology Transfer Center (NW PTTC) serving Health and Human Services (HHS) Region 10 is led by the Social Development Research Group (SDRG) at the University of Washington (UW) in partnership with Washington State University (WSU), and the Center for the Application of Substance Abuse Technologies (CASAT) at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR).

Friday October 30th

On Friday at 10am PT, the WSLCB COVID Legal/Policy/Rules Meeting was scheduled to recur.