Observations

The WSLCB cancelled 8 out of 11 regularly scheduled public meetings in March as governance in the shadow of COVID-19 shifted to emergency rulemaking and temporary policy adjustments.

Seated alone in compliance with his own social distancing orders, Governor Jay Inslee signed two bills into law which expand WSLCB and DOH cannabis regulatory authorities.

Public meetings for cannabis-related policymaking remained uncertain at the start of another week under the pall of COVID-19, but some agencies pushed ahead with telepresence.

Where does all the cannabis money go? Taxes from cannabis sales were utilized for a multitude of purposes and cannabis-related policymaking was funded by the Legislature.

With the close of the legislative session and restrictions on public movement tightening against the spread of COVID-19, cannabis policymaking appeared set to slow if not pause altogether.

The SBOH renewed their emergency rule against use of vitamin E acetate in vapor products and expressed concern about prospects for SB 6254, the Governor’s vapor product legislation.

The Board cancelled the March 18th Board Meeting, rescheduled the Quality Control public hearing, and learned about the surprising fate of the agency’s social equity legislation.

In the early afternoon on Tuesday March 10th, the House voted to accept the Senate’s changes to HB 2870 while honoring the bill’s primary sponsor, Majority Caucus Chair Eric Pettigrew, one of the House’s few African American members who planned to retire from the Legislature at the end of the 2020 session. Deputy Speaker Pro … Continued

On Monday March 9th during floor activity, HB 2870 was rewritten and amended once more before being returned from the Senate.

Five cannabis-related bills and the supplemental operating budget remain active as the Washington State Legislature’s short session draws to a close on Thursday.