Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board
(WSLCB)

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.

Proposed rules for the WSLCB social equity program also included “readability” edits throughout the WAC, and agency staff were scheduled to follow up after the Cannabis Retail Safety Forum.

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.

The governor signed the only non-controversial cannabis bill of the 2022 session into law, setting regulators up to form an interagency coordination team responsible for lab standards.

A quiet week for cannabis-related policymaking events created space for thoughtful public outreach by members of the University of Washington Center for Cannabis Research.

Licensees, legislators, and lobbyists talked about a wave of retail robberies which had increased in frequency in 2022, examining banking, training, and other possible solutions and mitigations.

Legislative leaders of cannabis policy committees talked about a few successes in 2022, and the more numerous failures around medical cannabis, equity, and cannabinoid regulation bills.

State leaders planned to publicly engage with selected cannabis retail stakeholders to draw attention to the need for federal banking reform to help mitigate robberies before more people were hurt.

After a week of multiple retail robberies resulting in deaths of staff and suspects, the board talked about the need for federal action and scheduled a roundtable talk with stakeholders.