Willing avoidance of increased transparency and unexplained delays characterized important cannabis-related policymaking events in the week beginning on September 11th.
Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.
Monday September 11th
WSIPP - Board of Directors Meeting
On Monday at 9:30am PT, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) Board of Directors planned to host their quarterly meeting.
- [ Event Details ]
- The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) is a non-partisan public research group located in Olympia, Washington which conducts research at the direction of the Washington State Legislature or the Institute's Board of Directors. Created in 1983, WSIPP has become nationally and internationally recognized for the design, depth, and quality of its research reports and benefit-cost analyses.
- As part of Initiative 502, WSIPP was directed to evaluate public health, public safety, and economic impacts of the legalization of cannabis for adult use in Washington state over the course of the ensuing two decades.
- On March 9th, WSIPP representatives went over their prior cannabis publications, and the then-upcoming third report with lawmakers.
- On Friday September 1st, WSIPP staff published “Initiative 502 and Cannabis-Related Public Health and Safety Outcomes: Third Required Report” and subsequently sent an email announcement on Wednesday September 6th which indicated:
- “In this third required report, we describe findings from analyses of the relationship between non-medical cannabis legalization or licensed retail operations and various outcomes. First, we examined how cannabis possession misdemeanor conviction rates changed in Washington after the passage of I-502. Second, we examined how reported cannabis use has changed in Washington after the passage of I-502 compared to non-legalizing states. Last, we specifically focused on the impact of local access to licensed non-medical retailers. For these analyses, we examined how retail access relates to substance abuse and traffic safety outcomes within the state over time. These analyses represent an intermediate step towards the ultimate legislatively mandated benefit-cost evaluation of I-502.”
- Within the report, the authors elaborate on their most controversial findings, which were further detailed in dedicated Technical Reports:“However, in our analyses focusing on the impact of licensed NMC retail access within the state, evidence suggests that closer proximity to a retailer is related to a greater probability of reported past-month and heavy past-month cannabis use. Given this relationship, we last examine the relationship between retail access and subsequent cannabis-related outcomes. We find that increased retail access predicts:
- Also on Wednesday, WSIPP staff announced the next upcoming WSIPP Board of Directors meeting to be hosted in SeaTac on Monday. The published agenda indicated that the lead 502 researcher, Amani Rashid, was scheduled to provide a presentation.
- When contacted, WSIPP staff indicated no accommodations would be made to allow for remote observation or participation by members of the public. WSIPP staff did not coordinate with TVW to broadcast the event and did not indicate an intent to record the proceedings.
WSLCB - Work Group - Public Education - Meeting
On Monday at 10:30am PT, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board Public Education Work Group (WSLCB - Work Group - Public Education) was scheduled to host its inaugural meeting.
- [ Event Details ]
- Early in 2023, agency staff quietly took down educational material while promising they were"overhauling the entire site to provide you with the most current and relevant infromation [sic]." After Citizen Observer and National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) member Bailey Hirschburg called on the board to add cannabis consumer-centered information and advice in public comments on March 1st, Board Member Jim Vollendroff followed through on a plan to include Hirschburg in a group reviewing educational changes.
- Hirschburg also raised the issue during remarks to the board on August 16th.
- The work group would be led by Public Health Education Liaison Mary Segawa---who was due to retire at year's end---and Hirschburg would represent cannabis consumer views similar to his participation on the agency Cannabis Advisory Council (CAC).
- Two public health experts from the University of Washington (UW) were also invited to participate. At least one of the UW researchers declined the opportunity to have the proceedings recorded, precluding creation of a more accurate record of the group’s deliberations.
- Segawa suggested the first meeting would allow members to present their proposed changes and get reactions from the group. Then, members would send additional changes or feedback in writing before a second meeting where they could weigh in on final revisions before materials were posted on the WSLCB website.
Tuesday September 12th
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 ]
Wednesday September 13th
WSLCB - Board Meeting
On Wednesday at 10am PT, the bi-weekly WSLCB Board Meeting was scheduled to recur.
- [ Event Details ]
- As of August 9th, WSLCB Licensing staff were waiting for scored applications from Ponder Diversity Group (PDG) for the first round of social equity retail licenses and indicated that implementation of legislation modifying the social equity program was underway.
- On Tuesday September 5th, agency staff sent an announcement indicating that they had begun to receive some, but not all, scored applications and would further defer action until all had been received. The announcement suggested that “Anyone interested in Cannabis Social Equity program updates is encouraged to attend in person or observe online the next upcoming Board meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 13th at 10 a.m. During this meeting, the LCB Licensing team will provide a more in-depth update regarding next steps.”
- At publication time, the next formal board action on cannabis related rulemaking was not expected until October 25th.
WSLCB - Executive Management Team
On Wednesday at 1:30pm PT, the three-member Board and agency leadership were scheduled to convene their monthly WSLCB Executive Management Team (EMT) meeting.
- [ Event Details ]
Thursday September 14th
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.
Friday September 15th
DOH - Webinar - Medical Cannabis - Workshop
On Friday at 9:30am PT, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Medical Marijuana Program staff planned to host a webinar workshop on revisions to program rules.
- [ Event Details, Rulemaking Project ]
- In response to a rulemaking petition about DOH compliant cannabis label design, agency staff quietly opened a rulemaking project in November 2022 addressing the entire chapter, intending “to update the term ‘marijuana’ to ‘cannabis,’ review the classifications for compliant product, examine compliant product labeling, and align quality assurance standards with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board.”
- As of late April, the rulemaking project had not been listed on the main DOH rulemaking website and was added in response to feedback from Cannabis Observer.
- On August 3rd, DOH staff announced “the first rulemaking workshop” for the rulemaking effort was scheduled for August 29th. On August 11th, DOH staff postponed the webinar until September 15th.
- In each of the announcements, DOH staff indicated “a document with more detailed information about topics under consideration along with input we have received since filing the CR-101" would be sent out "About 2 weeks prior to the workshop.” At publication time, less than one week before the webinar, no documents had been sent to recipients of the announcements.