The Seattle City Council could amend and adopt three social equity and worker ordinances after WSLCB board members began reckoning with the covert actions of their Enforcement division.
Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.
Monday September 5th
The State of Washington recognizes the Labor Day holiday.
Tuesday September 6th
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 ]
- During the month of August, two Board Caucus events were cancelled during off weeks when a board meeting wasn’t imminent and members were excused. That’s a typical pattern we’ve observed over the years to arrange vacations during times of limited board activity. Board work ramps up again in September, but we may see a cancellation again this week.
- If not, board members may feel compelled to take up the subject of the announcement by WSLCB Communications staff on Friday afternoon of the Enforcement and Education division investigations of "two businesses" operating unlicensed markets followed by a "Special Operation" on Tuesday August 30th during which agency officers led execution of search warrants and arrests to follow up on "multiple public complaints."
- In addition to unregulated cannabis products, Vincere's Compassion Club (Tacoma, WA) was reported to have "growing equipment, cash, electronic and surveillance equipment, ballistic vests, and two firearms" on the premises. One person was arrested.
- Red Barn Trading (Roy, WA) was characterized in the release by "a sizeable amount of psilocybin, peyote products, cash, electronic and surveillance equipment, and four firearms." Two people were arrested.
- Board members may find there is a lot to unpack in these actions which have been felt across many of their stakeholder communities and the public. An enumeration of the many difficulties the agency may have created for itself is beyond the scope of this edition of the Week Ahead, but we’d like to say one thing.
- Cannabis Observer exists to help “dismantle the prohibition of cannabis by creating outstanding information about cannabis policymaking in Washington state for stakeholders, the public, and policymakers themselves.” One of the reasons we aim to dismantle prohibition is to halt the harms caused by the so-called war on drugs - which is not a war against substances, but rather against people, our own citizens. That domestic conflict has been disproportionately waged against communities of color, but the victims are united in their love of the plant regardless of skin color.
- In my strongly held opinion, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board should not be utilizing public funds to perpetuate the war on drugs by voluntarily undertaking investigations of unlicensed businesses it has no regulatory authority over - much less leading raids against them which further traumatizes all participants. To do so exceeds the bounds of the limited authority granted to the agency and creates conflict between stakeholder groups the agency is tasked to serve.
City of Seattle - City Council - Council Meeting
On Tuesday at 2pm PT, the weekly Seattle City Council (City of Seattle - City Council) Council Meeting was scheduled to recur.
- [ Event Details ]
- Returning from their two week summer break, Councilmembers will take up the three cannabis equity and labor ordinances introduced by the Mayor’s Office which made their way through deliberations in the Finance and Housing Committee during 2022.
- The trio of bills related to worker and social equity in the cannabis sector, drafted by the Mayor’s office and originally planned for introduction on August 2nd, were instead introduced on August 9th before referral to the Finance and Housing Committee.
- The Finance and Housing Committee convened a special meeting on August 11th and received staff briefings on the ordinances and potential amendments. On August 17th, members deliberated on the three bills and amended two of them prior to voting on their recommendation out of committee. Hannah Krieg at The Stranger has an excellent writeup of the somewhat contentious amending process which activated pro- and anti-union sentiments familiar to observers of the council.
- On Tuesday, the full council will hear the committee report on the three ordinances, and will likely take up the bills for further amendment. Conspicuously, Councilmembers Teresa Mosqueda and Sara Nelson planned to submit a jointly authored amendment to CB 120391 to address the type of entity—and its desired attributes—to conduct an estimated $250K “cannabis needs assessment” of the sector in Seattle.
Wednesday September 7th
WSDA - Public Hearing - Hemp Program
On Wednesday at 10am PT, rulemaking staff at the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) were scheduled to host a public hearing on the hemp program rulemaking project.
- [ Event Details, Rulemaking Project ]
- In March, WSDA rulemaking staff announced the opening of a new project to modify the hemp program rules to comport with changes in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Final Rule for the Domestic Production of Hemp. Staff also intended to update “multiple sections throughout the chapter in order to add clarity and transparency to the existing language.”
- The CR-102 containing a summary of changes and proposed rules was filed on August 3rd, and rulemaking staff planned to host a public hearing on those rules on Wednesday morning.
WA Hemp in Food Task Force - Meeting
The Washington State Hemp in Food Task Force (WA Hemp in Food Task Force) Meeting tentatively scheduled for Wednesday was cancelled.
- [ Event Details ]
- The WA Hemp in Food Task Force convened last Wednesday August 31st for an abbreviated meeting. The scheduled member presentation was cancelled so a planned survey of relevant state and national policies was not delivered - data which the work groups said they are waiting on and seemed confused about who was responsible for gathering. New members continued to be invited to join the task force, which numbers over 20 non-state participants, and they spent most of an hour deliberating and discussing still nebulous goals.
- Participants tentatively agreed to convene again on Wednesday September 7th, but Steven Byers of the Athena Group, the facilitator of the WA Hemp in Food Task Force as well as the WA Hemp Commission Task Force, scuttled that plan on Friday afternoon. At publication time, members were likely to reschedule to meet during the coming two weeks.
Thursday September 8th
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.
Friday September 9th
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.