WA House RSG - Committee Meeting
(January 16, 2023) - HB 1249 - Public Hearing

A bill expanding sales and possession limits for low-THC beverages got support from two industry stakeholders, but a consumer advocate dissented over suspected environmental implications.

Here are some observations from the Monday January 16th Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) Committee Meeting.

My top 3 takeaways:

• Committee Counsel Peter Clodfelter briefed the committee on HB 1249, "Regarding limits on the sale and possession of retail cannabis products" (audio - 2m, video).
  • Clodfelter shared the bill analysis indicating the measure:
    • Authorizes cannabis retailers to sell additional amounts of certain cannabis-infused product[s] in liquid form to a retail customer in a single transaction.
    • Authorizes persons 21 years of age or older to possess and, subject to requirements in current law, to transfer additional amounts of certain cannabis-infused product in liquid form to another person or persons 21 years of age or older.
  • Telling the committee that infused beverages were one of four types of cannabis products authorized in law, Clodfelter said the bill would permit an additional possession limit of “200 milligrams (mg) of THC [tetrahydrocannabinol] within a cannabis-infused in liquid form to a retail customer if the product is package in units containing no more than 4 milligrams of THC per unit.” The bill further allowed transfer of half that amount “for non-commercial purposes” between adults, similar to the sharing provisions for other cannabis items, he added.

• The prime sponsor and supportive testifiers argued that supporting lower concentration cannabis beverages was an innovation welcomed by both businesses and consumers.
  • Five individuals registered in support of the bill (testifying, not testifying).
  • Representative Chris Corry, the prime sponsor, told the committee the issue had been raised with him by a beverage maker in Yakima whose products had 2.5 mg of THC per unit. “And unfortunately, with the limit” on infused beverages “you can only buy a six-pack” for a total of 15 mg. The bill was about the “ability for [licensees] to be able to sell that in a single transaction…it's more or less the government catching up to the marketplace and us being responsive to what is out there and legally available for sale” (audio - 2m, video).
    • Representative Jim Walsh sought clarification that the bill was limited to only lower concentration infused beverages (audio - 1m, video).
  • Washington CannaBusiness Association (WACA) Deputy Director Brooke Davies offered the group’s backing of the bill to change the "somewhat arbitrary" limits on infused beverage volume (audio - 2m, video).
  • Douglas Henderson, The Painted Rooster CEO, was a licensee who lobbied Corry for the change. He stated low concentration beverages were a market “innovation” and that an “important part of our market evolution is not just addressing the high THC products, but also understanding that many consumers do want low THC” (audio - 2m, video).

• A single speaker opposing the measure based on assumed environmental impacts of the new product type evoked several questions about the bill’s relationship to other legislation involving cannabis product packaging.
  • Ramsey Doudar, Patients and Users for Reasonable Policy (PURP) Founder, was the only person signed in as ‘con’ on the bill. He spoke out of concern for the “daily cannabis users" whom he said backed increased THC limits of 200mg per package “not just for liquid edibles, but for solid edibles as well.” Despite backing the proposed increase, he reported that PURP opposed the bill because “revisions are written in a needlessly confusing way and also because it creates the caveats for packaging liquid edibles in comically small individual units….of four milligrams apiece, which is 50 pieces of packaging for a single SKU [stock keeping unit].” Doudar wanted to see legislators “address the obscene amounts of packaging waste that have been generated almost entirely through legislation” before promoting a bill he believed would add to the problem (audio - 3m, video).
    • Companion bills aimed at "Improving Washington's solid waste management outcomes” specifically targeted cannabis products for revised packaging requirements and were scheduled for public hearings on Tuesday January 17th.
      • HB 1131 was scheduled for a hearing in the Washington State House Environment and Energy Committee (WA House ENVI).
      • SB 5154 would be heard by the Washington State Senate Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee (WA Senate ENET).
  • Walsh checked with Clodfelter about whether the packaging approach would be mandatory (audio - 1m, video).
  • Co-Chair Sharon Wylie asked whether consideration of packaging waste had been evaluated by Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) staff in “the last several years.” WSLCB Director of Legislative Relations Marc Webster acknowledged the issue of packaging waste and the associated environmental impact had “come up in a number of different avenues and we look forward to working with anyone…on a solution for it” (audio - 1m, video).

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