The Week Ahead
(October 4, 2021)

WSLCB Money Furnace

WSLCB staff planned to host a third webinar on the Cannabis Central Reporting System (CCRS) to help expedite the transition away from MJ Freeway - and reallocate funding?

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

Monday October 4th

WSLCB - Webinar - CCRS

On Monday at 9am PT, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) was scheduled to host a third webinar on the Cannabis Central Reporting System (CCRS).

  • [ Event Details ]
  • On September 8th, WSLCB staff hosted an introductory webinar on the transition to CCRS which covered “the fundamental processes and data reporting requirements of CCRS and will detail how testing, training, and technical resources and support will be provided before the system launches.” Staff replied to 50 questions which were sent in advance, many of which were subsequently posted to the agency CCRS FAQ screen.
  • On September 20th, WSLCB technical staff hosted a second webinar for testing volunteers to introduce “CCRS material, test cases, csv file generation and how to report any issues.” Staff reviewed many of the technical resources available on the agency CCRS Resources screen.
  • The Monday October 4th webinar looks to be similar in content to the September 20th webinar: more technical details and test case guidance as the CCRS testing environment was opened up to more participants.
  • During the WSLCB Board Meeting last week on September 29th in response to a public comment, Board Chair David Postman indicated that the CCRS testing environment would be open through October and “during that time, [WSLCB Chief Financial Officer and CCRS Executive Sponsor] Jim Morgan and his staff and the others on the team are going to evaluate any issues or concerns, either from external stakeholders or internal with the LCB, to determine if an extension is needed at that point. We are not committed to any arbitrary timeline, but we do have to set deadlines to drive us to completion.”
  • Should WSLCB staff and the entire Washington cannabis sector execute the transition to CCRS by December 31st, the agency would not have to exercise the final subscription services contract amendment with MJ Freeway and would realize a savings of $300K in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. No additional funds nor staff had been sought to enable and sustain the transition to CCRS, although internal staff had been rededicated to support the effort.
  • Meanwhile, WSLCB staff had asked the Governor’s Office for permission to ask the legislature for a new budget allocation to support the Interagency Coordination Team (ICT) agency request legislation intended to transition responsibility for lab standards to the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA). WSDA and the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) would each be requesting new full time employees (FTEs) along with WSLCB, which was seeking two new Chemist FTEs in addition to half time of another employee.
  • That legislation was separate from another substantial and controversial request to expand WSLCB authority to regulate all “psychotropic” and “impairing” compounds in the cannabis plant and sufficiently similar synthesized compounds. According to WSLCB Director of Legislative Relations Chris Thompson, the increased responsibilities required to police delta-8-THC products across the state (and delta-10-THC, THC-O-acetate, THV, and HHC products…) would not entail any additional financial burden and he planned to submit a fiscal note to the Office of the Governor which projected “no impact.”
  • Both of those requests for legislative action were separate from the hulking Systems Modernization Project (SMP) which had been trundling along since September 2015 and was halted in the last year due to lack of funds. WSLCB planned to request $17.5M including nearly 16 FTEs in FY23 to continue shoveling money at the challenge of replacing their aged minicomputer which inexplicably continued to support fundamental licensing and enforcement tasks as it had for decades. Unfortunately for him, WSLCB CFO Jim Morgan was also the Executive Sponsor of the SMP project.

Tuesday October 5th

WSLCB - Board Caucus

On Tuesday at 10am PT, the weekly WSLCB Board Caucus was scheduled to recur.

Wednesday October 6th

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

Thursday October 7th

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

Friday October 8th

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