Washington State Office of the Governor
(WA Governor)

The board heard about two agency request bills: a joint venture with WSDA to regulate testing lab standards and one “to allow for synthetic, but to prohibit artificial” cannabinoids in products.

The governor approved a “consumer protection measure” so that imported CBD would be tested prior to use in legal cannabis items.

Task force members heard progress reports from work group leaders and WSLCB licensing staff while the public voiced complaints about the pace of task force work and the absence of the former co-chair.

Details of a board member’s discussion with state counsel on synthesized delta-9-THC led to conversation about the policy statements and agency regulatory powers beyond rulemaking.

Amidst long solstice days after a week of high temperatures, important decisions about the future of the Washington state cannabis industry were under way - and more heat was expected.

A “wave of interest” around the WSLCB-approved Joints for Jabs vaccination program provoked both media inquiry and criticism while the board and staff remained confident in the program.

Board members welcomed a new deputy director and were brought up to speed on the Joints for Jabs program, external meetings involving agency staff, and ongoing rulemaking projects.

Governor Inslee signed the biennium operating budget which appropriated cannabis excise tax revenue and other general fund tax dollars among more than a dozen agencies.

Governor Inslee signed a legislative response to a court case which invalidated the state drug possession statute, and lawmakers allotted more than $172 million to address the ruling.

The board chair responded to public comments on incentivizing coronavirus vaccination, the safety of converting hemp distillate into THC, and inaction towards business normalization.