Following Veterans’ Day reflection and gratitude, WSLCB leaders were scheduled to convene a monthly EMT meeting without former Director of Enforcement and Education Chandra Wax.
Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.
Monday November 11th
The State of Washington recognizes the Veterans’ Day federal holiday, formerly Armistice Day commemorating “the signing of the armistice between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers effectively ending all military operations and hostilities in all theatres and fronts of World War I.” Only after “the war to end war” proved a temporary peace was Armistice Day renamed Veterans’ Day in the United States in 1954 by proclamation of President Dwight Eisenhower, “himself a veteran who had served as the supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe and who had become a five-star general of the Army before his political career.”
Tuesday November 12th
WSLCB - Board Caucus
The weekly Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Board Caucus was cancelled.
- [ Event Details ]
- During the caucus on Tuesday November 5th, Policy and Rules staff provided rulemaking updates identical to those delivered during the board meeting the following day.
Wednesday November 13th
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 ]
- The EMT meeting on October 9th was cancelled.
- During the October 23rd Board meeting, Cannabis Observer Founder Gregory Foster expressed concern about EMT meeting cancellations, noting four out of ten monthly events had been cancelled in 2024 without attempting to reschedule.
- During the board meeting on Wednesday November 6th, Christopher King claimed that Enforcement and Education Director Chandra Wax had resigned, information later independently verified by Cannabis Observer. In the first official acknowledgement of the change, the agenda for the EMT meeting lists Paul Magerl as the “Acting Director of Enforcement & Education.”
- Wax, née Brady, assumed the role of Director of Enforcement and Education on February 1, 2021 taking on a division that had been undergoing transformation since early 2019 following the passage of SB 5318 and the issuance of the Hillard Heintze report in December of that year.
- Former Enforcement Chief Justin Nordhorn previously fulfilled that role beginning in 2011 after having joined the agency in 1998. In September 2020, agency leadership indicated Nordhorn would be horizontally transferred to lead the new Policy and External Affairs Division—a centralized policymaking, interpretation, and communications structure recommended by Hillard Heintze—after identification of a new Director for the rebranded Enforcement and Education Division.
- During her nearly four year tenure, Wax was responsible for leadership of the Enforcement and Education division during a number of challenging situations.
- In April 2023, Wax issued an email announcement to all cannabis licensees titled “Notice of Pesticide Contamination in Region of Okanogan County” highlighting “Random testing of products…with detectable levels of dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE).” The investigations sent agency staff and the board scrambling to develop emergency rules, call off their issuance, and field inquiries from concerned legislators and the press.
- In January 2024, Enforcement and Education staff joined the City of Seattle Joint Enforcement Team (JET) during premise checks of traditionally LGBTQ+ nightlife establishments, actions interpreted by patrons as “raids.” Board members and agency staff responded to outpourings of discontent from affected community members and concerned legislators, leading to withdrawal from the JET, rulemaking, and internal research to evaluate bias in enforcement.
- In September 2024, calls for the resignation or firing of Enforcement and Education Director Chandra Wax reached a crescendo after the near hiring of Kim Potter, a White police officer convicted of the manslaughter of an unarmed Black man while training police officers in Minnesota, to train WSLCB officers on the use of lethal force.
- Wax, née Brady, assumed the role of Director of Enforcement and Education on February 1, 2021 taking on a division that had been undergoing transformation since early 2019 following the passage of SB 5318 and the issuance of the Hillard Heintze report in December of that year.
Thursday November 14th
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.
Friday November 15th
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.