WSLCB board members would hear about the Healthy Youth Survey from public health officials while Policy and Rules staff hosted a deliberative dialogue on cannabis impairment.
Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.
Monday May 30th
The State of Washington recognizes the Memorial Day holiday.
Tuesday May 31st
WSLCB - Board Caucus
On Tuesday at 10am PT, the weekly Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Board Caucus was scheduled to recur.
- [ Event Details ]
- The agenda for Tuesday’s caucus indicated board members planned to meet to hear one scheduled topic, “Healthy Youth Survey – Review and Discussion.” The Healthy Youth Survey (HYS) is a collaborative effort of the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (WA OSPI), the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), the Washington State Health Care Authority (WA HCA) Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR), and the WSLCB. According to the DOH, the survey provides “important information about youth in Washington. State, local, and Tribal public health agencies, county prevention coordinators, community mobilization coalitions, community public health and safety networks, and others use this information to guide policy and programs that serve youth.”
- Some HYS data is accessible online.
- The presentation would be led by the relatively new Public Health Education Liaison Mary Segawa - who was also the prior Public Health Education Liaison before Sara Cooley Broschart joined the agency in April 2019. Segawa would be presenting publicly to the board for the first time since returning to the role she held for over nine years.
- Following her departure from WSLCB, Segawa became an independent “Consultant and Educator” on public policy and substance use disorder prevention. She worked with the federally-funded Northwest Prevention Technology Transfer Center (NW PTTC) to facilitate webinars, including “Activating Communities for Change” and “Advocacy Essentials for Prevention Practitioners.”
- Segawa collaborated with Oregon Health Authority Principal Researcher Julia Dilley to develop “A Prevention Practitioners' Toolkit to Understanding R10 State Cannabis Policies and Regulations” for NW PTTC. The toolkit consists of six documents which describe “the current status of HHS Region 10 state retail cannabis regulatory frameworks and specific policies, highlighting their relevance for prevention” in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska.
- During the May 11th WSLCB Executive Management Team meeting, Policy and Outreach Director Justin Nordhorn, the former Chief of Enforcement whom Ms. Segawa reports to, mentioned that Ms. Segawa put together a description of the scope of her activities for incoming Board Member Jim Vollendroff. This would also be the first public health---and behavioral health---focused presentation and discussion with Vollendroff.
WSLCB - Deliberative Dialogue - Cannabis Impairment
On Tuesday at 10am PT, WSLCB staff planned to host another deliberative dialogue on cannabis impairment.
- [ Event Details ]
- At the same time that the board regularly meets every week on Tuesday, WSLCB Policy and Rules staff scheduled the next deliberative dialogue related to the new Cannabinoid Regulation rulemaking project initiated in mid-May. Agency staff remain focused on developing criteria by which to designate particular cannabis products as “impairing” and/or deserving of age restrictions.
- WSLCB staff invited a new panel of speakers to field staff and public questions:
- Michael Milburn, UMass Boston Professor of Psychology (retired)
- Mr. Milburn is the Founder and Chief Science Officer at Impairment Science, the creators of the Druid mobile application which “applies neuroscience to assess a user’s level of cognitive and motor impairment due to any cause.”
- Nicholas Lovrich, Washington State University (WSU) School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs Emeritus Regents Professor
- On the occasion of the establishment of the WSU Center for Cannabis Policy, Research, and Outreach (WSU CCPRO), Lovrich said, “We don’t know anywhere near what we need to know about the long-term effects of legalizing cannabis.”
- David Northrop, Washington State Patrol (WSP) Crime Laboratory Manager
- In July 2021, the Seattle Times reported “Washington State Patrol’s toxicology lab ran tests in office contaminated by meth, possibly jeopardizing thousands of cases.” Following remediation of the office space, Northrop was reported to have “warned at least some forensics lab personnel in a December 2019 email that ‘It should be considered absolutely inappropriate’ to perform toxicology functions ‘in the same space that bulk-drug chemistry work is either being done or has been done.’”
- Sheri Jenkins, WSP Crime Laboratory
- Michael Milburn, UMass Boston Professor of Psychology (retired)
Wednesday June 1st
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.
Thursday June 2nd
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.
Friday June 3rd
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.