This week would include interesting events covering a broad spectrum of cannabis-related topics including social equity, behavioral health, delta-8-THC, and substance use prevention.
Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.
Monday May 31st
Memorial Day
Tuesday June 1st
On Tuesday at 10am PT, the weekly Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Board Caucus was scheduled to recur.
- [ Event Details ]
On Tuesday at 1pm PT, the WSLCB Listen and Learn Forum on the Criminal History rulemaking project was scheduled to occur.
- [ Event Details, Rulemaking Project ]
- Previously scheduled for May 13th, this event was cancelled that morning without explanation and rescheduled to June 1st.
- The purpose of the listen and learn forum is to step through pre-proposal conceptual draft rules (redline version) section by section to solicit feedback on the suggested modifications to WAC 314-55-040.
On Tuesday at 1:30pm PT, the bi-weekly Washington State Health Care Authority (WA HCA) Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR) Listening Session Webinar was scheduled to recur.
- [ Event Details ]
- These events provide an opportunity for WA HCA and DBHR leadership and staff to present to and connect with behavioral health service providers as well as their peers at the Washington State Department of Health (DOH).
- In our first observation of this event type on May 18th, we heard from the Assistant Director for Behavioral Health and Recovery, Keri Waterland, as well as Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Mental Health Promotion Section Manager, Sarah Mariani. We learned about the appropriation of behavioral health investments totaling $371.5M for fiscal years 2021-2023 including the legislative response to the State v. Blake ruling.
- That funding includes the $500K operating budget proviso for “the Authority to contract with the University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute to implement a process to develop policy solutions in response to the public health challenges of high Tetrahydrocannabinol potency cannabis.”
Wednesday June 2nd
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events scheduled
Thursday June 3rd
On Thursday at 9:30am PT, the first WSLCB Deliberative Dialogue on the THC rulemaking project regarding “Cannabis Plant Chemistry” was scheduled to occur.
- [ Event Details, Rulemaking Project ]
- On May 12th, the WSLCB Board approved the opening of a new rulemaking project to consider “establishing a new rule section that would allow the WSLCB to evaluate additives, solvents, ingredients or compounds other than delta-9 THC used in the production and processing of marijuana products to determine whether such substances pose a risk to public health or youth access.” While initiated in response to the prevalence of delta-8-THC in regulated and unregulated markets, the effort implicates the arbitrary legal fictions constructed to distinguish hemp from marijuana from cannabis, as evidenced by the extraction of cannabidiol (CBD) from hemp biomass and subsequent conversion to tetrahydrocannabinols (THCs).
- The dialogue will provide a forum for WSLCB Policy and Rules Manager Kathy Hoffman to moderate a discussion amongst selected panelists on the subject of “Cannabis Plant Chemistry.” After moving through Hoffman’s prepared questions, the event will be opened for moderated questions from the public for the panelists to address.
- At publication time, five panelists had been announced:
- David Gang, Director of the Tissue Imaging and Proteomic Laboratory, WSU
- Jessica Tonani, CEO of Verda Bio
- Nephi Stella, Stella Lab, Cannabinoid Pharmacology and Neuro-Oncology, UW
- Amber Wise, Medicine Creek Analytics
- Brad Douglas, Organic Chemist, The Werc Shop
On Thursday at 2pm PT, the WSLCB Statewide Prevention Roundtable was scheduled to occur.
- [ Event Details ]
- For the past several years, WSLCB staff have organized and hosted private focus groups with public health representatives and prevention advocates. Agency leadership, including the Board Chair and Director Rick Garza, attend the events which include presentations from both WSLCB staff and stakeholders. In recent years, WSLCB Public Health Education Liaison Sara Cooley Broschart has organized the events with the assistance of a planning team inclusive of prevention advocates.
- Cannabis Observer, and others, have not been allowed to directly observe these events. While publicly advertised and permitted to register, agency staff define the event as “open to prevention and public health partners only” and wait to send out the webinar connection details the day before the event to selected participants. It’s unclear what criteria are applied to discern who qualifies as a “prevention and public health partner,” nor why WSLCB staff should be empowered to create such a distinction. It is counterproductive, unnecessarily reinforces an “us versus them” mentality, and remains an aberration within an organization which otherwise admirably practices and prioritizes the value of transparency.
- However, in what may be a positive development, the agenda for this roundtable was distributed in advance to all registrants and includes:
- A discussion about “Interplay of local and state in marijuana” led by WSLCB Compliance and Adjudications Manager Nicola Reid, WA HCA Prevention Policy and Project Manager Christine Steele, and Kitsap Public Health District Community Liaison Megan Moore who also serves in that role for Prevention Voices.
- A segment titled “Prevention Spotlight: Weed To Know” led by a Spokane Regional Health District staffer.
- A “Rules walkthrough: Edible marijuana products and appealing to youth” led by WSLCB PAL staff; DOH staff in charge of the Youth Marijuana Prevention and Education Program (YMPEP); and Mike Graham-Squire, a Washington Association for Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention (WASAVP) board member.
- If allowed, Cannabis Observer will observe this event.
Friday June 4th
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events scheduled