Washington State Legislature
(WA Legislature)

At four tables with small groups of lawmakers, WACA members and meeting attendees honed arguments in support of lower taxes, more advertising, vertical integration, and out of state ownership.

The final licensing and community reinvestment recommendations from the task force were presented, discussed, and voted upon before members scheduled remaining work.

The locus of cannabis policymaking in Washington state would temporarily shift to Walla Walla as an influential trade association convened legislators and regulators to confer and commingle.

The committee heard about a motion to create a cannabis security task force to address robberies in the area, amending wording and scope before recommending it to the full council.

A leading cannabis researcher went over his work on CBD and THC compounds to leverage the therapeutic potential of the endogenous cannabinoid system in the body.

Panelists from previous talks returned to field questions on identifying and regulating impairing cannabinoids, goals much more difficult to reach for cannabis than for alcohol.

Legislative, licensing, communications, and director updates contributed to the discussion amongst WSLCB leadership about activity towards social equity in cannabis.

Staff gathered input on draft conceptual rules for the agency social equity program which included many criticisms of the proposal - and heard opposition to the underlying equity project.

The Governor shared his thoughts on the supplemental budget before signing it; the measure created two hemp task forces, a community reinvestment fund, and other cannabis-centric changes.

The Governor signed a bill which changed non-binding cannabis revenue appropriations and mandated a study of those expenditures by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee.