The Week Ahead
(August 28, 2023)

The WSLCB board and staff would convene again this week, but the next formal cannabis rulemaking action by members was not expected until October 25th.

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

Monday August 28th

At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.

Tuesday August 29th

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 ]
• At the last caucus on August 22nd, members met in executive session for the purpose of litigation review with their attorneys general, the Agency Director, members of the Policy team, and Licensing division cannabis and social equity staff.

Wednesday August 30th

WSLCB - Board Meeting

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

• [ Event Details ]
• At the last board meeting on August 16th, Citizen Observer Bailey Hirschburg encouraged the board to look at hiring through a “harm reduction” lens for the Public Health Education Liaison position up for renewal before 2024.
• At publication time, Policy and Rules Manager Cassidy West had publicly stated that the next board action on cannabis rulemaking was not expected until the October 25th board meeting.
  • As originally projected on June 21st, the SB 5367 Implementation rulemaking project timeline anticipated a CR-102 would be filed on October 25th.
  • Most recently mentioned on August 2nd, the tentative date for a CR-102 containing proposed rules on the Product Samplesrulemaking project was pushed from September to October 25th.
    • In April, the rulemaking project had been projected to be completed by mid-August.
• Coincident with the shift of former Policy and Rules Manager Kathy Hoffman to the Research Manager position, the absence of Policy and Rules Coordinator Jeff Kildahl, and a presumed effort to replace West’s Policy and Rules Coordinator position, all other cannabis policymaking at WSLCB had either not been initiated, was paused without specifying a return date, or was under internal deliberation. That included:
  • SB 5080 Implementation; last assigned to Kathy Hoffman
    • In July, Hoffman anticipated a CR-101 to start rulemaking would be introduced once “background” work was completed in “late July/early August.”
  • Advertising; last assigned to West
    • The CR-101 was filed in August 2022 but Hoffman announced efforts had been paused in April.
  • Payment Terms; last assigned to Kildahl
    • Following a review on March 28th, the rulemaking petition was accepted on March 29th.
    • In May, the effort was projected to be completed “towards the end of September” but by July the project was “still on hold.”
  • Minors on Wholesale Licensed Premises; last assigned to West
    • The rulemaking petition was accepted in August 2022 but Hoffman announced efforts had been paused in May.
  • Medical Cannabis Retail Endorsements
    • Following a lengthy debate on March 28th, the rulemaking petition was accepted on March 29th.
    • By May, Hoffman explained she wanted to ensure adequate staffing so “there's a lot of attention paid to that project” to complete “meaningful work in a meaningful way.”
  • Global Entry Cards
    • The rulemaking petition was accepted on April 12th.
• Although yet to be publicly mentioned, WSLCB Policy and Rules staff also have a substantial rulemaking effort coming up to excise cannabis laboratory standards and accreditation requirements from the agency administrative code to complement the effortswell underway at the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) and the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) to shift those responsibilities before July 2024. Most likely, that rulemaking effort at WSLCB will have to be initiated in late 2023 to allow sufficient time for completion.
  • During the August 9th Executive Management Team (EMT) meeting, WSLCB representatives on the Cannabis Lab Accreditations Standard Program (CLASP) discussed meetings between agencies and the possibility that authority for laboratory accreditation could be transferred again.

Thursday August 31st

At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.

Friday September 1st

At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.