The Week Ahead
(November 27, 2023)

2024 Legislative Session Preparation - JLARC - DOH - DOE - WSDA - WSLCB

State legislators would be prepared with details on cannabis revenues, appropriations, and retail theft while Ecology staff delayed accreditation rules to see how the session panned out.

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

Monday November 27th

At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.  Pre-filing of legislation for the 2024 Washington State Legislature session begins in one week.

Tuesday November 28th

WSLCB - Board Caucus

On Tuesday at 10am PT, the weekly Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Board Caucus was scheduled to recur.

Wednesday November 29th

JLARC - Committee Meeting

On Wednesday at 10am PT, the Washington State Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Committee members would hear a preliminary presentation on a legislatively mandated study into “Appropriations and Expenditures of the Dedicated Cannabis Account.”
    • During the 2022 session, legislators passed and the governor signed ​​SB 5796  ("Restructuring cannabis revenue appropriations") which changed non-binding cannabis revenue appropriations and required a study of those expenditures by JLARC officials be completed by December 2023.
    • By October 2022, JLARC staff had reached out to former WSLCB Director of Legislative Relations Chris Thompson “to assist them with their project.” He stated they would be looking at whether the appropriations were “consistent with law, whether information about…these topics is readily available to the general public, and…whether there are ways to enhance or increase the transparency and accountability” around them (audio - 2m, WSLCB video, TVW video).
    • At the November 2022 JLARC meeting, staff presented proposed study questions that provided more specificity on the project scope:
      • “1. How much money has been appropriated from the Dedicated Cannabis Account and for what purposes?
      • 2. How have state and local entities spent the funds they received? Are the expenditures consistent with statutory directives?
      • 3. How much from the Account has been spent in local communities?
      • 4. How is information about the Account’s appropriation and expenditures made available to the public, and are there options for improving the transparency and accessibility of information?”
    • On Tuesday, JLARC staff would present their preliminary report (overview, video). A proposed final draft of the report will be presented at the JLARC meeting on January 3rd, 2024.

DOE - Webinar - Accreditation of Cannabis Laboratories - Public Workshop

On Wednesday at 10am PT, the first of two additional Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) webinar workshops on the Accreditation of Cannabis Laboratories was scheduled to occur.

  • [ Event Details, Rulemaking Project ]
  • On June 21st, Ecology staff initiated rulemaking as part of the transition of responsibility for cannabis lab accreditation from WSLCB to other state agencies.
    • At publication time, Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) staff were preparing to propose more primary rules to define cannabis lab accreditation standards. Ecology staff would then perform accreditation testing to gauge the capacity of private labs to meet and abide by the WSDA rules.
    • At publication time, WSLCB staff had not announced complementary rulemaking to remove lab standards and accreditation requirements from their own rules.
  • On Wednesday July 26th, DOE staff released draft conceptual rules and announced two public workshops to “share our rule development process and listen to suggestions on the draft rules.”
    • At the first webinar workshop hosted on August 2nd, DOE staff described their rulemaking process and expected timeline before delving into the details of their draft rules. Of note, the enacting legislation required Ecology to recoup program costs—estimated to be roughly half a million dollars—directly and exclusively from the regulated community of private labs. As there were seven operational labs plus one suspended at publication time, each operational lab would be required to pay ~$72K per year to maintain baseline accreditation with the State - on top of costs to meet new requirements, implement standardized methods, and prepare for audits. Ecology staff recognized additional burdens this would place on labs and their customers, and proposed a graduated four year ramp up to the full annual expense.
    • A second workshop to get responses to draft lab accreditation rules dealt with questions about the costs and process behind DOE staff taking over lab authority from WSLCB. Ecology staff expected to propose rules by the end of October.
  • A seemingly non-negotiable sticking point between WSDA and DOE staff concerned the composition of proficiency tests (PTs): solutions carefully prepared by a third party containing target analytes which were delivered to testing labs to demonstrate performance.
    • Ecology staff had long-maintained the position that proficiency tests should be composed “in-matrix,” meaning the analytes of interest should be derived from cannabis.
    • WSDA staff recognized that there was no PT provider in Washington state which could create in-matrix PTs, cannabis remained a federally prohibited substance that cannot be legally shipped across state borders, and hemp matrix PTs were available - and about as close an analog to cannabis PTs as one could devise.
    • The remarkable scientific rigor envisioned by Ecology staff conflicted with the regulatory pragmatism at WSDA to such an extent that WSDA staff were prepared to introduce agency request legislation to rescind all cannabis lab accreditation responsibilities from Ecology and take them on at Ag.
  • On November 15th, Ecology staff released a significantly revised schedule which would push rulemaking beyond the upcoming legislative session; published additional draft rule changes and formatting; and announced two new workshops including the event on Wednesday.

Thursday November 30th

DOH - Webinar - YCCTPP Training Series - Issues With Disposing of Vape Waste

On Thursday at 10am PT, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Youth Cannabis and Commercial Tobacco Prevention Program (YCCTPP) planned to host a webinar on “Issues With Disposing of Vape Waste.”

WA Senate LC - Committee Meeting

On Thursday at 3:30pm PT, the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) planned to convene for the purpose of hosting work sessions.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Among other items, Senators planned to hear "Retail theft updates."
  • On November 16th, the Washington State Office of the Attorney General (WA OAG) announced the first leader of the new Organized Retail Crime Unit and highlighted its initial prosecution of a Bremerton man accused of stealing $50K of goods from Target stores in King and Kitsap counties.
  • The Washington State Organized Retail Crime Task Force (WA ORC Task Force) continued to convene, and hosted a panel of cannabis retail representatives on March 29th who conveyed experiences and suggested policies on reducing robberies, while local officials and others pushed for more organized and proactive enforcement approaches.
  • At publication time, it was unclear if the cannabis sector or its representatives would be considered or included in the Senate deliberations.

Friday December 1st

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