The Week Ahead
(November 4, 2024)

WSLCB - Timeline of Cannabis Data Tracking Systems - Traceability

WSLCB staff planned to delay action on three rulemaking projects before being publicly called to account for a follow-up State performance audit on cannabis traceability and enforcement.

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

Monday November 4th

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

Tuesday November 5th

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 ]
  • During the caucus on Tuesday October 29th, Strategy and Performance Manager Jessica Dang provided a brief summary of the 2024 Employee Engagement Focus Groups hosted around the state, provoking questions from board members which indicated they may be developing heightened expectations for the presentation of data from agency staff.  That was followed by an overview of the Education Program within the Enforcement and Education division presented by Education Program Manager Matt McCallum, summarizing intentional changes made to the program since its mandated inception a few years ago.
  • On Tuesday, the board was scheduled to hear rulemaking updates and prepare for rulemaking activity at the bi-weekly board meeting on Wednesday.

WSU CCPRO - Cannabis Research Seminar

On Tuesday at 4pm PT, the Washington State University Center for Cannabis Policy, Research, and Outreach (WSU CCPRO) would host a lecture in the Cannabis Research Seminar Series.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • During the last seminar on October 15th, WSU Molecular Plant Sciences Ph.D. Candidate Jeremy Boutin presented a lecture titled, "Unraveling the Mechanism of Acyclic Terpene Synthases in Cannabis Sativa."  Audio for remote participants was unavailable during the webinar presentation but Cannabis Observer followed up to let the organizers know about the issue.
  • On Tuesday, WSU Institute of Biological Chemistry Associate Professor Mark Lange, the Director of the M.J. Murdock Metabolomics Laboratory as well as a Co-Founder and Chief Science Office of Dewey Scientific, was scheduled to present a lecture titled, "The Pathways Leading to Cannabis' Distinctive Aroma."

Wednesday November 6th

WSLCB - Board Meeting

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

  • [ Event Details ]
  • According to the agenda, all previously scheduled cannabis rulemaking had been further postponed since the last terse and vague public rulemaking update by Director of Policy and External Affairs Justin Nordhorn on October 22nd.
  • Minors on Wholesale Licensed Premises [ Rulemaking Project ]
    • On October 8th, staff projected having a CR-102 with proposed rules ready for approval to file on Wednesday November 6th (audio < 1m, video - TVW, video - WSLCB), at that point the fourth public revision of the estimate on this particular milestone.
  • SB 5376 Implementation [ Rulemaking Project ]
    • Also on October 8th, staff projected having a CR-102 proposal on cannabis waste rules ready for approval to file on November 6th (audio < 1m, video - TVW, video - WSLCB), at that point the seventh public revision of the estimate on this particular milestone.
  • Product Samples [ Rulemaking Project ]
  • Lab Authority Transfer [ Rulemaking Project ]
    • Upon initiation in July 2024, the public hearing on the rulemaking project to clean up agency code to reflect the statutory transfer of authority over lab quality standards and accreditation to the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) was originally forecast to occur during the November 6th board meeting.  At publication time, the CR-102 with proposed rules required to host a public hearing were projected for introduction at the subsequent board meeting on November 20th.

JLARC I-900 Subcommittee - Public Hearing

On Wednesday at 1pm PT, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee I-900 Subcommittee (JLARC I-900 Subcommittee) was scheduled to host a public hearing.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Voters approved Initiative 900 (I-900) in the November 2005 general election authorizing the Washington State Office of the State Auditor (WA SAO) to conduct independent, comprehensive performance audits. The resulting law provided the WA SAO with the authority to audit any state agency, local government, or public education agency/institution.  I-900 required the Legislature to hold public hearings within 30 days of the WA SAO releasing audits of state agencies, to consider audit findings and receive public testimony.  That responsibility was assigned to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) which established a subcommittee for that purpose, although all JLARC members are also members of the subcommittee.
  • In 2018, the WA SAO conducted a performance audit regarding WSLCB staff use of technological tools to automate oversight of the cannabis industry which “examined how LCB could build and automate risk management tools to ensure a tightly regulated cannabis market and the most efficient and effective use of its internal audit and enforcement staff.”  The JLARC I-900 Subcommittee hosted a public hearing on that report in September 2018 including a presentation by WA SAO staff, a response from WSLCB led by former Deputy Director Pat Kohler, and feedback from the public including Cannabis Observer.
  • On October 22nd, WA SAO released a follow up report titled, “Evaluating Washington State Oversight of the Cannabis Industry: Follow-Up Issues.”  The “Key Results” were summarized as:
    • “The 2024 audit found that the cannabis tracking system LCB planned to launch in 2018 [MJ Freeway] subsequently failed. Facing the need to replace other aging IT systems [the Systems Modernization Project], LCB does not expect to fully implement a more efficient tracking system [to replace the Cannabis Central Reporting System (CCRS)] until 2031 – nearly 20 years after the legal recreational cannabis market was authorized by voters.
    • “The reasons for the lack of a robust cannabis tracking system capable of delivering the tools anticipated in 2018 included:
      • “Significant turnover in senior agency leadership, leading to knowledge gaps concerning agency projects and past lessons learned
      • “Problems in project management around the cannabis tracking system planned for launch in 2018 meant that system failed to deliver on planned tools
      • “Other IT projects, including to replace legacy systems, have taken priority over replacing current cannabis-tracking systems
      • “Despite some improvements in agency enforcement efforts, more work remains to be done to fully address recommendations made in our 2018 audit”
  • On Wednesday, the JLARC I-900 Subcommittee planned to host a public hearing on the new WA SAO report.  At publication time, registration was open to note one’s position, submit written comments, or sign up to offer in-person or remote testimony on the report.

Thursday November 7th

WA ORC Task Force - Meeting

On Thursday at 10am PT, the Washington State Organized Retail Crime Task Force (WA ORC Task Force) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • To Cannabis Observer’s knowledge, there had been no mention of cannabis retail businesses during the WA ORC Task Force meetings since the dedicated panel hosted in March 2023 when several cannabis retailers conveyed experiences and policies on reducing robberies, while local officials and others pushed for more organized and proactive enforcement approaches.

Friday November 8th

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