Washington State Legislature
(WA Legislature)

Washington State House and Senate policy committees had full schedules for the second week of the short session as 21 cannabis-related bills vied for legislator attention - including four newly introduced.

After pushback for not acting earlier, council members formally and unanimously endorsed all of the recommendations of the Washington State Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis.

As the 2022 Washington state legislative session began on Monday, 12 cannabis-related bills had been pre-filed for introduction and 7 would be reintroduced from 2021.

Board members expressed concerns about prospects for legislative action around synthesized cannabinoids, including mention of a potential competing bill.

There were no cannabis-related events scheduled for the final week of 2021, but new bills for the 2022 session continued to be pre-filed on topics including out-of-state ownership.

Aside from a WSDA public hearing on seed services, officials continued to pre-file legislation, analyze the governor’s proposed budget, and rest into the holidays.

In their final meeting of 2021, board members discussed a recent ride-along, a legislative proposal to overhaul the board from a cannabis trade association, and “collateral enforcement.”

2022 legislative session preparations continue as pre-filing of bills begins on Wednesday, interim actions were wrapped up, and required reports filed.

Prevention and social equity advocates would convene online, while a cannabis trade association would host state legislators, regulators, and researchers for in person discussion.

Members adopted an algorithm for determining disproportionately impacted areas (DIAs) but postponed consideration of two social equity application process recommendations.