The Week Ahead
(June 21, 2021)

Cannabis in High Sun

Amidst long solstice days after a week of high temperatures, important decisions about the future of the Washington state cannabis industry were under way - and more heat was expected.

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

Monday June 21st

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

Tuesday June 22nd

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 ]
  • Last week, the regularly scheduled WSLCB Board Caucus was cancelled, but a Special Board Caucus was posted later that day providing twenty-four hours notice of an unusual event. The only item listed on the agenda was “Hemp-Derived Delta-9 THC.”
  • While much attention had been paid to the emergence of delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8-THC) in unregulated and regulated markets around the country, comparatively little investigation had been made into the fabrication of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol using the same or similar processes of conversion of cannabidiol extracts.
  • Board Member Russ Hauge, who leads the investigation of synthesized cannabinoids in Washington state for the 3-member governing board of the WSLCB, received sufficient information and staff confirmation that at least one licensed processor had been utilizing chemical processes to synthesize delta-9-THC for subsequent sale within the 502 system to call for a special meeting. It turned out that Hauge also called for the special meeting in order to publicly confront Director Rick Garza and other agency staff about their hesitation to open a formal investigation into the allegations against the processor, which remained publicly unnamed by agency leadership. Over 40 stakeholders, officials, and members of the public observed the event.
  • At issue was interpretation of RCW 69.50.326 on the “Use of additives to enhance CBD concentration of authorized products.” Hauge believed the law was violated anytime a licensee converted CBD extract “from anywhere in the world” into delta-9-THC for inclusion in cannabis products. Policy Affairs and Outreach Director Justin Nordhorn seemed to be unclear if “after they use it as an additive can they do something else with that product?” Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Geoffrey Allen, pinch hitting for AAG Penny Allen, was reluctant to give legal advice in a public meeting, advising that it would be better submitted “in writing” to the board and reviewed in a closed setting. By the end of the meeting, all parties agreed that scheduling a private briefing from and discussion with counsel would be their next step.
  • Tuesday’s Board Caucus will be the first opportunity the board has to regularly convene and potentially schedule a closed executive session to continue their discussion.

Wednesday June 23rd

WSLCB - Engagement - WACA

On Wednesday at 8:30am PT, WSLCB agency leadership and a senior advisor from the Office of the Governor were scheduled to attend the annual Washington CannaBusiness Association (WACA) spring meeting in Walla Walla and participate in a panel discussion.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • According to the event agenda, the following executive branch representatives were scheduled to attend the event in their official capacities to participate in a policy-related discussion:
    • WSLCB Director Rick Garza
    • WSLCB Director of Enforcement and Education Chandra Brady
    • Washington State Office of the Governor Senior Policy Advisor Sheri Sawyer
    • WSLCB Policy and Rules Manager Kathy Hoffman

WA Legislature - Engagement - WACA

On Wednesday at 9:30am PT, senators and representatives from the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) were scheduled to attend the annual WACA spring meeting in Walla Walla and participate in a panel discussion.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • According to the event agenda, the following legislative branch representatives were scheduled to attend the event in their official capacities to participate in a policy-related discussion:
    • WA Senator Curtis King
    • WA Senator Marko Liias
    • WA Senator Ann Rivers
    • WA Representative Shelly Kloba
    • WA Representative Drew MacEwen
    • WA Representative Emily Wicks
    • WA Representative Sharon Wylie

WSLCB - Board Meeting

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

  • [ Event Details ]
  • On Wednesday, we expect the board will be asked to adopt the Tier 1 Expansion CR-103 which will double the maximum canopy allowance for tier 1 producers from 2000 square feet (sq ft.) to 4000 sq ft. The CR-102 memorandum stated: “Tier 1 production canopy represents 1.94% of the total licensed canopy. Active Tier 1 production canopy represents 1.8% of the total licensed active canopy. Even if every active Tier 1 licensed producer added an additional 2,000 square feet of production capacity, Tier 1 licensed canopy would represent only 3.6% of the total active licensed plant canopy. This is the equivalent of adding less than 9 Tier 3 licenses in terms of total additional canopy, although that equivalency would be spread out among 125 businesses, and that is assuming that all active Tier 1 licensees double their current production space. The agency does not expect that this will occur.”
  • We also expect there may be a significant number of public comments following last week’s Special Board Caucus. If you wish to speak to the board during “General Public Comments”, email dustin.dickson@lcb.wa.gov before that agenda item on the day of the meeting, but preferably by close-of-business on Tuesday June 22nd. Comments will be limited to four minutes per person.

Thursday June 24th

WSLCB - Integrator Work Session

The monthly WSLCB Marijuana Traceability Project (MTP) Integrator Work Session was permanently cancelled.

  • Most recently scheduled monthly on last Thursdays, on June 9th WSLCB staff sent an email announcing the permanent cancellation of the Integrator Work Session events. The email stated, “The designed purpose of the standing Integrator meetings was to discuss code changes and technology updates during the Leaf project. As the project phase has concluded, and no future Leaf code releases are anticipated, the LCB is reaching out to let this audience of Leaf Integrators know that the standing monthly meeting is going to be cancelled moving forward.”
  • Following the agency decision to halt further development by Akerna/MJ Freeway on the Washington state version of Leaf Data Systems, the integrator work sessions had become a largely futile effort to bring existing and newly discovered problems with the state cannabis traceability program to light, much less resolution. Neither the vendor nor the state were committed to fixing anything but the most pernicious issues, and those resolutions were dragged out for months. The integrator work sessions, while helpful for third-party software providers to confirm they were seeing similar issues and share workarounds, had become fairly toxic.
  • The integrator work sessions were established to assist third-party software developers during the transition away from BioTrackTHC, through the months of feeding data into the WSLCB mismanaged “contingency reporting system,” and into the MJ Freeway era of traceability reporting. It has been a bumpy journey. Yet, in March, the agency publicly committed to switching its traceability solution again before its final contract renewal with MJ Freeway expires in June 2022 - back to a rebranded and allegedly buffed “central reporting system.” Disappointingly, the software integrators were last convened in February and that group was never informed by agency staff that they would be responsible for completely revising their reporting interfaces---and facilitating transactional coordination and exchange between their platforms---in less than a year.

Friday June 25th

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