Testimony on cannabis commission legislation showed an industry divided over benefits and costs, plus the committee recommended bills on cannabis waste and THC-based taxation.
Lawmakers rushed to recommend legislation ahead of the cutoff on Wednesday while amending budgets and preparing for fiscal committee work, but four cannabis-related bills would likely not be moved in time.
Lawmakers heard bills on a tax exemption for registered medical patients and transferring lab accreditation, passing the former, then amended and recommended a THC bill without a public hearing.
After undertaking significant activity on cannabis-related bills on Monday, lawmakers lined up executive sessions on a few more bills before the final policy committee deadline on Wednesday.
A pattern of postponed or delayed rulemaking came into focus as staff once again offered revised timelines for projects and petitions going back to the summer of 2022.
11 cannabis-related bills remained subject to the next cutoff on Wednesday but the WSLCB data dashboard bill and inversion/diversion legislation were particularly poorly positioned.
Operating budget proposals began to take shape as policy committees considered legislation ahead of the Opposite House Policy Committee Cutoff on Wednesday February 21st.
Four cannabis-related bills were heard or advanced on Thursday whereas four others were more clearly withdrawn from consideration as committee schedules for the following week continued to fill out.
After hearing two cannabis bills on Wednesday, lawmakers had increasingly busy calendars on Thursday and through the following mid-week to meet the next policy committee deadline.
Most lawmakers agreed to pass legislation to address risks associated with use of “high THC” products, with some disagreement around how urgent and restrictive solutions should be.