As policy efforts were eased at the close of the year, lingering questions about a legislator’s conduct and the future of hemp cannabinoids in Washington state kept the calendar active.
Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.
Monday December 19th
WA LEB - Board Meeting
On Monday at 12pm PT, the Washington State Legislative Ethics Board (WA LEB) was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Washington legislators and legislative employees are subject to the "Ethics in Public Service Act" (RCW 42.52). The Washington State Legislative Ethics Board (WA LEB) is charged with administering the Ethics Act while maintaining awareness of "the long-term effects Board decisions may have on the legislative branch of government and the public trust." The Board conducts training and education; adopts its own rules and policies; issues advisory opinions and ethics alerts; and conducts formal complaint proceedings.
- In late September and early October, an investigative report was submitted to and released by Washington State House of Representatives (WA House) Chief Clerk Bernard Dean which found evidence that Representative Melanie Morgan, a former legislative co-chair of the social equity task force, “engaged in abusive and bullying conduct” against task force staff.
- On October 9th, counsel for Morgan appealed Dean’s decision to release the report to the WA House Executive Rules Committee, as “the flawed investigative report was provided late on a Friday afternoon (October 7, 2022) weeks after it had been submitted (September 22, 2022) and only weeks prior to an upcoming election in which Representative Morgan is standing for re-election.”
- On October 12th, the report and Morgan’s appeal were published in an article by the Associated Press (AP).
- In the November 8th general election, Morgan was re-elected to represent position 1 in legislative district 29 and was present at subsequent meetings of the Washington State House Commerce and Gaming Committee (WA House COG).
- At publication time, Cannabis Observer had not identified any additional publicly available information about the status of the complaint investigation.
- According to the Washington State Legislative Ethics Board, Morgan had been cleared in three previous complaints, including two involving allegations of harassing behavior, in 2019, 2020, and June 2021.
Tuesday December 20th
WSLCB - Board Caucus
The weekly Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Board Caucus was cancelled.
- [ Event Details ]
Wednesday December 21st
WSLCB - Board Meeting
The bi-weekly WSLCB Board Meeting was cancelled.
- [ Event Details ]
WA Hemp in Food Task Force - Meeting
On Wednesday at 1pm PT, the Washington State Hemp in Food Task Force (WA Hemp in Food Task Force) was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- At the conclusion of the last meeting of the task force on December 14th, participants tentatively agreed to meet on Wednesday December 21st for the purpose of holding a vote on the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to allow in hemp products outside of the regulated 502 marketplace.
- Participants were not able to arrive at a consensus recommendation for the amount of THC to allow per serving and the number of servings per package ahead of the submission of their final report to the legislature.
- On December 14th, participants reviewed additional changes to the final report which would be updated by Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) staff after December 23rd.
- A majority of participants advocated for 2.5mg of THC per serving, and two servings per package. But due to dissension around the varying amounts declared safe for adults and/or children in academic literature and in practice in jurisdictions around the world, the task force did not recommend specific amounts, only that amounts should be specified in law and/or rule.
- WSLCB request legislation specified 1mg of THC per serving and no servings per package limit, which some 502 licensees believe is too high.
- A vote may provide support for draft legislation composed by several members of the task force. At publication time, the draft legislation was under review by WSDA staff who had been clear the boundaries of their engagement on any legislative effort did not extend to putting forward agency request legislation on the inclusion of hemp cannabinoids in foods, beverages, and dietary supplements.
- During the Wednesday December 14th WSLCB Executive Management Team meeting, Director of Policy and External Affairs Justin Nordhorn indicated he had not seen the draft legislation, and discussed likely conflicts with the WSLCB legislation (audio - 5m, video - WSLCB, video - TVW).
- Participants were not able to arrive at a consensus recommendation for the amount of THC to allow per serving and the number of servings per package ahead of the submission of their final report to the legislature.
- At publication time, Cannabis Observer had not been informed whether the task force meeting would take place.
Thursday December 22nd
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.
Friday December 23rd
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.