The Week Ahead
(May 24, 2021)

WSIPP - Cannabis Legalization Evaluation

The cannabis science and equity task forces were scheduled to have pivotal meetings, and a webinar would offer an opportunity to hear from a leading State researcher on I-502.

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

Monday May 24th

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

  • [ Event Details ]
  • The CSTF was created as part of HB 2052 in 2019 in order to help facilitate the transition of cannabis testing laboratory accreditation to the DOE. The Steering Committee has generally met monthly since August of that year in a public setting, while multiple work groups have met privately to carry out technical work and forward recommendations for the Steering Committee’s consideration. The CSTF produced its first mandated report on “Laboratory Quality Standards for Pesticides in Cannabis Plants and Products” in 2020 and, at publication time, was beginning to prepare its second mandated report for publication before December 1st on lab standards for testing for potency, residual solvents, and microbials.
  • The enacting legislation specifies the task force will expire in December 2022, yet the agenda for Monday’s meeting includes time for discussion about “Winding down the Task Force.” It’s unclear what this could portend.
    • The initial funding appropriated for the task force was set to expire at the end of June 2021 - but additional funds were appropriated in the next biennium operating budget, specifically: “two hundred seventy thousand dollars in fiscal year 2022, and two hundred seventy-six thousand dollars in fiscal year 2023.” Those amounts were down from the $465K and $464K appropriated for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 respectively.
    • Potentially related, one outcome from the CSTF’s deliberations has been agreement that a standing “interagency coordination team” (ICT) would be created to own and determine laboratory accreditation standards which Ecology would implement and enforce. The task force’s recommendations would be taken up and potentially modified by this new body whose members would be drawn from the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB), the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), and the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) - the primary agencies with regulatory authority over cannabis. This entity does not yet exist, and we expect to see agency request legislation during the 2022 session to create and fund this new organization.

Tuesday May 25th

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

On Tuesday at 4pm PT, the Washington State Legislative Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis (WA SECTF) was scheduled to convene.

Wednesday May 26th

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

  • [ Event Details ]
  • It’s our understanding that the Board will be asked to approve the filing of proposed rules on the Vitamin E Acetate rulemaking project.

Thursday May 27th

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

On Thursday at 11am PT, the Northwest Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC - NW) was scheduled to host a webinar on “The Benefits and Costs of Prevention.”

  • [ Event Details ]
  • The Prevention Technology Transfer Center Network is a federally funded entity devoted to bridging gaps between academic researchers and prevention practitioners. Multiple regional centers host trainings and webinars on prevention topics, and share information among interested parties.
  • During this webinar, participants will hear from Eva Westley, who “will provide a basic overview of Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) benefit-cost resources and answer questions on how to best use these resources to understand the economics of your prevention programs.” Westley is the relatively new WSIPP staffer responsible for researching and reporting the long-term Initiative 502 benefit-cost evaluations defined in RCW 69.50.550. The previous WSIPP staffer responsible for creating the first two reports, Adam Darnell, resigned from the Institute in October 2019. It’s Cannabis Observer’s understanding that the role subsequently remained unfilled for many months. The next report is due in September 2022.

Friday May 28th

At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events scheduled

2021 Legislative Session

Legislators declared the end of the regular session on Sunday April 25th.

Cannabis-related Laws (5)

  • SB 5372 - "Concerning a hemp processor registration process."
    • Sponsors (6): Stanford, Warnick, Conway, Hasegawa, Saldaña, J. Wilson
    • Last Step: signed by WA Governor on Friday April 16th
    • Effective Date: Sunday July 25th, 90 days after adjournment of regular session
  • HB 1443 - "Concerning social equity within the cannabis industry."
    • Sponsors (13): Morgan, Wicks, Simmons, Berry, J. Johnson, Ramel, Kloba, Ryu, Peterson, Ormsby, Ortiz-Self, Harris-Talley, Macri
    • Last Step: signed by WA Governor on Monday May 3rd
    • Effective Date: Sunday July 25th, 90 days after adjournment of regular session
  • SB 5092 - "Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium operating appropriations."
    • Sponsors (3): Rolfes, L. Wilson, C. Wilson
    • Last Step: bill action by WA Governor on Tuesday May 18th
    • Effective Date: immediate
  • SB 5361 - “Concerning the resentencing of persons convicted of drug offenses.”
    • Sponsors (3): McCune, Warnick, J. Wilson
    • Last Step: bill action by WA Governor on Wednesday May 12th
    • Effective Date: immediate
  • SB 5476 - “Responding to the State v. Blake decision by addressing justice system responses and behavioral health prevention, treatment, and related services.”
    • Sponsors (11): Dhingra, Hasegawa, Hunt, Kuderer, Lovelett, Nguyen, Pedersen, Rivers, Robinson, Saldaña, Wellman
    • Last Step: bill action by WA Governor on Thursday May 13th
    • Effective Date: immediate