WSLCB staff would take another pass at revising the social equity program, but closed and obscure proceedings hinted at seismic shifts between regulators and the cannabis sector.
Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.
Monday October 21st
WSLCB - Focus Group - Public Health and Prevention Roundtable
On Monday, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Chair and agency staff planned to host a closed event for selected public health and prevention stakeholders.
- [ Event Details ]
- Originally planned for Monday October 1st according to a monthly newsletter published by WSLCB Public Health Education Liaison Kristen Haley for selected public health and prevention partners, the quarterly roundtable was subsequently rescheduled.
- The prevention roundtable events, opportunities for prevention stakeholders to privately meet with the Chair of the board and agency staff, were a legacy of former WSLCB Public Health Education Liaison Mary Segawa. Haley welcomed public health officials into the context, which remained closed and infrequently mentioned in public by board members or agency staff.
- Cannabis Observer had been told many times over the years that observation of these events would be “inappropriate” as agency leaders hoped to cultivate a safe space for participants to share their perspectives without fear of judgment or misinterpretation.
- On August 7th, the WSLCB Research Program, in coordination with Haley, hosted a closed focus group for public health and prevention representatives to gather their feedback on the creation of data dashboards by agency staff.
- Cannabis Observer unsuccessfully sought an invitation to this event in mid-July, after which Research Program Manager Sarah Okey stated their data dashboard development plan called for meeting with multiple stakeholder groups. Haley explained, “The goals of each call are a little different because the needs of each group are different.”
- WSLCB Research Analyst Nick Glodosky subsequently offered a live preview of a prototype data dashboard during his presentation at the Washington State Health Care Authority Prevention Research Collaborative (WA HCA PRC) quarterly meeting on September 4th.
- At publication time, Cannabis Observer was not aware of any subsequent stakeholder meetings around the data dashboards having been announced.
- On September 23rd, the Research Program announced the retirement of the Cannabinoid Science Work Group which had been organized by former Research Manager Kathy Hoffman and positioned as a public forum for cannabis researchers to confer with WSLCB staff on subjects of interest. Leadership of the group was handed off to Okey, who hosted events in December 2023 and April 2024, the latter of which was not promoted in advance.
- Work group members were invited to join a new cross-substance WSLCB Research Roundtable which would host quarterly events that have been positioned as closed, invite-only gatherings. The announcement flyer shared with former work group members stated, "Attendance will be limited to those who have been invited to encourage open dialogue and discussion" and "What will NOT be included...Unauthorized audio recordings or attendance by individuals who have not been invited."
- In communications with Okey and Director of Policy and External Affairs Justin Nordhorn, Cannabis Observer learned that the program intends to ask invited presenters for permission to record their presentations, but staff rejected our requests to observe the meetings directly.
- The Research Program’s declared mission to be "a non-partisan, transparent resource" was amended on Friday October 18th to clarify that “Research priorities are based on several possible criteria, including legislative mandates, relevance and value to internal and external partners, alignment with agency policy and strategy, and availability of staff resources. The Research Program recognizes that priorities may shift over time, so we aim to maintain flexibility and adapt to changing priorities.”
Tuesday October 22nd
WSLCB - Board Caucus
On Tuesday at 10am PT, the weekly WSLCB Board Caucus was scheduled to recur.
- [ Event Details ]
- According to the agenda, Research Program Manager Sarah Okey was scheduled to present a “Liquor Enforcement Premise Check Report” evaluating patterns of engagement following WSLCB Enforcement involvement in incidents at “two liquor-licensed businesses that serve the LGBTQ+ community in the Capitol Hill district of Seattle in late January 2024.”
Wednesday October 23rd
WSLCB - Board Meeting
On Wednesday at 10am PT, the bi-weekly WSLCB Board Meeting was scheduled to recur.
- [ Event Details ]
- SB 5080 Implementation [ Rulemaking Project ]
- Following the public hearing on the initially proposed rules to implement 2023 legislation modifying the social equity licensing program, staff decided that substantive changes would be required. On Wednesday, Policy and Rules staff would restart the CR-102 process with a new set of proposed rules.
- SB 5376 Implementation [ Rulemaking Project ]
- On September 10th, Policy and Rules staff projected that proposed rules to implement cannabis waste legislation would be ready for presentation on October 23rd. The project CR-102 was not listed on the agenda.
Thursday October 24th
WIDAC - Council Meeting
On Thursday at 9:30am PT, the Washington Impaired Driving Advisory Council (WIDAC) quarterly Council Meeting was scheduled to recur.
- [ Event Details ]
- At publication time, an agenda for the WIDAC meeting had not been distributed to invitees. Unlike the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC)---the parent entity of WIDAC—and the other councils at the agency, WIDAC meetings have been restricted to invitees and no meeting materials are proactively published by staff. Cannabis Observer sought out and was granted access to the events.
- WTSC staff offered a presentation to legislators during the Washington State Senate Transportation Committee (WA Senate TRAN) work session on Tuesday October 15th. Agency leaders offered a presentation providing updates on “TRAFFIC FATALITIES, RISK FACTORS, ENFORCEMENT & STATEWIDE SURVEY.”
- The WTSC itself then met on Thursday October 17th where thirty minutes was allocated for a far-ranging discussion on “Why? 51% Increase in Fatalities Since 2019.” This conversation may have been prompted in part by a Stacker-syndicated article which was brought to the attention of attendees by WTSC Director Shelly Baldwin. The graphic showing Washington state as an unfortunate outlier on increased traffic fatalities since the pandemic was the backdrop for the conversation.
- During the discussion, WTSC Director of Legislative Relations Mark McKechnie suggested that surveys indicated cannabis use had increased among young drivers in Washington. The Governor's newly designated Senior Policy Advisor on Transportation, Megan Cotton, subsequently pushed back to ask instead what distinguishes Washington from other states surveyed - specifically noting other states have legalized cannabis and may see similar rates of use.
- A consensus seemed to circle around Washington having the lowest number of law enforcement officers per capita in the nation, leading to a dearth of "proactive" policing of speeding and impaired driving.
- That factoid had become a talking point in Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s campaign to become the Governor of Washington State.
- Later in the meeting during a presentation and discussion about efforts to lower the blood alcohol content (BAC) threshold to 0.05, Washington State Health Care Authority (WA HCA) Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Mental Health Promotion Section Manager Sarah Mariani, who frequently stands in for WA HCA Director Sue Birch, suggested that consumption of "standard drinks" measured by volume aren't necessarily a reliable measure of intoxication because some beers have a higher alcohol content than others. She then pivoted to offer a critique of high THC cannabis products, attempting to invalidate Cotton's earlier pushback, saying the use of high potency cannabis products by young people in Washington may not track the same as in other states.
Friday October 25th
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.