Mere weeks away from pre-filing, legislators and agency staff prepared draft bills including the WSLCB “impairing” cannabinoids legislation of interest and consequence to many.
Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.
Monday November 15th
WA Senate LCTA - Committee Meeting
On Monday at 8am PT, the Washington State Senate Labor, Commerce, and Tribal Affairs Committee (WA Senate LCTA) was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Staff from the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) would be accompanied by Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA) Executive Director Gillian Schauer to provide a briefing to committee members “on issues related to Delta 9, Delta 8, and other related products.”
- On October 21st, WSLCB staff were accompanied by Schauer during their update to the Washington State House Commerce Gaming Committee (WA House COG).
- On November 10th during the WSLCB Executive Management Team (EMT) meeting, Director of Legislative Affairs Chris Thompson described preparations for the subsequent WA Senate LCTA presentation (audio - 1m). He mentioned that Schauer would provide a “national perspective” followed by a presentation from WSLCB Director of Policy and External Affairs Justin Nordhorn accompanied by Policy and Rules Manager Kathy Hoffman.
- Review Thompson’s mid-October EMT update on the cannabinoids bill; the third draft released on November 1st including a summary of its provisions and a one pager; and Thompson’s summary during the November 10th EMT (audio - 1m) wherein he indicated for the first time that a WSLCB budget request would accompany the bill - along with a request from the Washington State Patrol (WSP) to expand the analytical testing capabilities of their lab. On the 10th, Thompson expected “to complete work on this package and submit everything in final form next week.”
Tuesday November 16th
WSLCB - Board Caucus
On Tuesday at 10am PT, the weekly WSLCB Board Caucus was scheduled to recur.
- [ Event Details ]
- Following Thompson’s description of the status of the cannabinoids bill during the November 10th EMT meeting, Chair David Postman reminded him that the Board continued to expect a briefing and discussion on what powers the agency would be asking for (audio - 1m). As Thompson indicated his interest in submitting final revisions to the Washington State Office of Financial Management (WA OFM) this week, the Tuesday caucus would be the only regularly scheduled opportunity for the board to meet together to hear a briefing in public - a stipulation which Postman required when he asked Thompson for a briefing on the bill in September (audio - 4m).
WA SECTF - Public Meeting
On Tuesday at 1pm PT, the Washington State Legislative Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis (WA SECTF) was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- The task force last convened on October 28th to deliberate on recommendations from the Disproportionately Impacted Communities work group. At publication time, one recommendation from that work group remained to be considered.
- In the intervening time, the Technical Assistance and Mentorship work group as well as the Licensing work group met to develop additional recommendations for the task force to consider.
- While loosely scheduled for 1pm, at publication time no agenda had been published. There was an indication that the meeting duration could be extended to account for the remaining recommendations to consider prior to the start of the 2022 legislative session on the second Monday in January. Pre-filing of bills would be permitted as of December 1st.
Wednesday November 17th
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.
Thursday November 18th
WSDA - Webinar - Pesticide Licensing Exams
On Thursday at 10am PT, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) planned to host a webinar on the Pesticide License Exams rulemaking project.
- [ Event Details, Rulemaking Project ]
- The CR-101 indicates: “The department is now considering modifying provisions of chapter 16-228 WAC to allow for third-party entities to administer pesticide licensing examinations and collect examination fees. This may include raising and restructuring examination fees.”
- In September, WSDA staff hosted two webinars on the rulemaking project. The new event description indicated staff would be “revisiting the information shared in September.”
WA House COG - Committee Meeting
On Thursday at 1:30pm PT, the Washington State House Commerce and Gaming Committee (WA House COG) planned to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- WA House COG members previously met on October 21st to learn about organic-comparable cannabis certification programs and appellations; hear from three trade associations; and receive updates from WSLCB.
- On Thursday, members would hear from representatives of:
- University of Washington Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute (UW ADAI)
- Department of Ecology Cannabis Science Task Force
- Washington State Legislative Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis (WA SECTF)
WA House PS - Committee Meeting
On Thursday at 1:30pm PT, the Washington State House Public Safety Committee (WA House PS) planned to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- The announcement for the committee work session indicated members would be addressing “Drug Policy Reform.”
- On Monday, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson would provide opening remarks in the “trial of Washington state’s lawsuit against McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., the three largest distributors of prescription opioids in Washington state.” The state has accused “the three Fortune 15 companies of failing to alert law enforcement when they received suspicious opioid orders, and shipping those orders with little or no investigation, significantly contributing to the supply of opioids and fueling the state’s opioid epidemic. The companies made billions of dollars while feeding the devastating epidemic, shipping huge amounts of oxycodone, hydrocodone and other prescription opioids into Washington even when they knew or should have known those drugs were likely to be diverted.”
Friday November 19th
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.