WA House RSG - Committee Meeting
(January 24, 2023) - HB 1453 - Public Hearing

Unanimously supportive testimony on a bill to remove the cannabis excise tax for medical patients registered with the state called attention to problems around taxing medicine.

Here are some observations from the Tuesday January 24th Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) Committee Meeting.

My top 3 takeaways:

  • Testimony was unanimously in favor, as patients, industry members, and a representative of the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) backed the move as beneficial for patients.
    • 82 individuals registered positions in support of the bill (testifying, not testifying).
    • The bill sponsor, Committee Co-Chair Sharon Wylie, stated cannabis was “serious medicine for some people for very serious ailments.” Merging the medical and recreational markets in 2016 was intended to create a “separation between people who pretended to need it medically” but, “it didn't quite work out the way we planned.” Medical providers left the patient market to become “recreational providers because there was a perception that it was going to be very profitable.” Removing the excise tax for patients was part of a broader review on the tenth anniversary since voters passed Initiative 502, and Wylie considered her bill ”one small way that we can help medical patients” (audio - 3m, video)
    • Representatives of both cannabis industry groups and individual businesses lent their support to the bill, feeling “true medical patients were left out" and the market for compliant cannabis items was “on the verge of collapsing."
    • Several patient advocates spoke about the challenges people like them faced, arguing medically compliant items were “very out of reach and unaffordable to most people right now,” use of a sin tax on medicine was akin to being treated as though they had a “sin diagnosis," and compliant items composed a small fraction of total cannabis sales in the state.
    • Additionally, WSLCB Director of Policy and External Affairs Justin Nordhorn said the agency supported the legislation since the “interest and intent to 5052 didn't really pan out, we don't see that many people in the registry.” Backing “other incentives for production” like lower taxes made sense, he said, and HB 1453 could potentially motivate more patient engagement with the system. Nordhorn added that agency officials had heard from a researcher that among patients, “55% said they could not afford the products…and so when we're looking at trying to support the patients in Washington state, we at the LCB believe that it's important to take a look at these gaps” (audio - 2m, video).
      • Robertson asked Nordhorn to explain what processes would stop someone from obtaining a patient registration under false pretenses (audio - 2m, video).
      • Chambers inquired about the medical diagnoses that enabled someone to qualify as a patient (audio - 1m, video).
      • Walsh asked about the difference between compliant and non-compliant cannabis items (audio - 1m, video).
  • One person opposed HB 1453, but offered no testimony on their position.

Information Set