WA Legislature - Update
(February 2, 2023)

WA Legislature - Update (Feb 2, 2023) - Takeaways

Six cannabis bills were up for initial hearings or executive action on Thursday morning and the committee schedule for the following week was published listing activity on eight cannabis bills.

Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Thursday February 2nd, the 25th day of the 2023 Regular Session.

My top 3 takeaways:

  • On Thursday February 2nd at 8am PT, the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) planned to take action on two medical cannabis bills before hearing public testimony on home grow legislation and two bills seeking to discourage use of concentrated cannabis products.
    • Executive Session
      • HB 1453 - “Providing a tax exemption for medical cannabis patients.”
        • Representatives heard entirely positive testimony on January 24th and there were no amendments at publication time.
      • HB 1563 - "Concerning arrest protections for the medical use of cannabis.”
    • Public Hearing
      • HB 1614 - “Concerning the home cultivation of cannabis."
        • An initial analysis was published summarizing the bill provisions.
        • At publication time, the home grow bill had already been scheduled for an executive session the following week on Thursday February 9th.
      • HB 1641 - "Addressing public health challenges of high-potency cannabis products."
        • An initial analysis was published summarizing the bill provisions which correspond to recommendations from the Washington State Health Care Authority (WA HCA) and the University of Washington Addictions, Drug, and Alcohol Institute (UW ADAI):
          • “Restructures the 37 percent cannabis excise tax to a tax of 37 percent, 50 percent, or 65 percent of the selling price, based on product type and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration.
          • Establishes marketing and advertising prohibitions on advertising a product that contains greater than 35 percent total THC.
          • Prohibits cannabis retail outlets from selling a cannabis product with greater than 35 percent total THC to a person who is under age 25 who is not a qualifying patient or designated provider.
          • Requires cannabis retailers to provide point-of-sale information to consumers who purchase certain cannabis products and requires the Liquor and Cannabis Board to develop optional training for retail staff.
          • Requires mandatory health warning labels for cannabis products that contain greater than 35 percent total THC.
          • Requires cannabis products to be labeled with the number of serving units of THC included in the package, and with an expression of a standard THC unit in volume or amount of product.
          • Directs $1 million annually from the Dedicated Cannabis Account for targeted public health messages and social marketing campaigns.”
      • HB 1642 - “Regulating the sale of cannabis concentrates.”
        • An initial analysis was published summarizing the bill provisions:
          • “Prohibits licensed cannabis retailers from selling cannabis concentrates with a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration greater than 35 percent, except for cannabis retailers with a medical cannabis endorsement who may continue to sell these products to qualifying patients and designated providers who are entered in the Medical Cannabis Authorization Database.
          • Limits licensed cannabis processors to only processing and selling cannabis concentrates with a THC concentration greater than 35 percent when those products are intended for sale as authorized in the bill.”
        • WSLCB staff provided a fiscal note on the bill which estimated a financial impact of $15K for software development. No attempt was made to estimate impacts on cannabis excise tax revenue.
        • The product prohibitions envisioned by the legislation would not explicitly ban concentrates containing less than 35% THC, but remained silent on the substance of potential ingredients composing the rest of these products. In late 2019, the previously unregulated diluent vitamin E acetate was found to be “strongly linked” to the E-Cigarette Vaping Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) outbreak which resulted in over 2800 hospitalizations and 68 deaths nationally. In October of that year, the Washington State Board of Health (SBOH) took emergency action to ban all flavored nicotine and cannabis vapor products, a measure which Representative Gerry Pollet spoke in favor of. At publication time, Pollet was a co-sponsor of both HB 1641 and HB 1642.
  • Also on Thursday at 8am PT, the Washington State House Environment and Energy Committee (WA House ENVI) planned to take action on a proposed substitute to a solid waste bill which included modifications to the original cannabis packaging provisions.
    • HB 1131 and SB 5154, “Improving Washington's solid waste management outcomes,” were respectively heard in WA House ENVI on January 17th and the Washington State Senate Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee (WA Senate ENET) on January 17th and 18th.
    • On Tuesday, proposed substitute bills were published for the House and Senate versions of the legislation with identical changes. The list of effects indicated:
      • “Eliminates [Post-Consumer Recycled Content] PCRC requirements for cannabis-based products.
      • Directs the Liquor and Cannabis Board to update cannabis packaging rules to reduce plastic packaging in an amount commensurate with a [producer responsibility organization] PRO's source reduction rate, to allow for and encourage the reuse of cannabis containers, and authorizes the Liquor and Cannabis Board to adopt PCRC rules for cannabis packaging in consultation with Ecology.”
      • See sections 125 and 503
  • Washington State House and Senate committee schedules for the following week were published which listed initial hearings or executive sessions on eight cannabis bills.