Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board
(WSLCB)

The attorney general’s office described the “strict scrutiny” standard federal courts applied to laws utilizing race-based criteria and how that related to the work group’s development of social equity program applicant criteria.

The hemp processor bill was headed to the Governor’s desk, likely followed by some version of the social equity bill, while rulemaking and interim work at WSLCB was ramping up.

Senators adopted committee language for legislation expanding the scope of the State social equity in cannabis efforts - but many Republican members ultimately opposed passing the bill.

There was no opposition from committee members to recommending a bill which would establish a voluntary hemp processor registration, a hemp extract certification, and limited authority for WSLCB to test hemp.

Legislators would take the week to debate, amend, and vote on legislation from the opposite chamber - but the list of active cannabis-related bills had grown shorter.

Legislation to exempt registered medical cannabis patients from the State excise tax on compliant products received a near unanimous policy committee recommendation, but was not taken up by its fiscal committee.

In a surprise move, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo commandeered the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA) to immediately legalize cannabis in all 51 states, unleashing a wave of creative activity to avert climate catastrophe.

Director Rick Garza discussed how his work for WSLCB and the organization CANNRA weren’t “separate hats” and identified states the agency would look to for model cannabinoid policies.

Two attorneys were invited to speak about Washington state cannabis policies compared to other jurisdictions in a work session about the future of the cannabis industry.

As budget activity ramped up, fiscal committees undertook the last week for consideration of most policy legislation - and several cannabis-related bills remained unscheduled at the start.