Cannabis Regulators Association
(CANNRA)

After a full week of WSLCB board activity, the Cannabis Alliance planned to host the ninth annual Washington State Cannabis Summit to engage with contemporary cannabis issues.

Agency leaders went over what they anticipated dealing with in 2024, including “high-THC” regulations, lab accreditation authority, medically endorsed stores, and social equity applicants.

As the WSLCB Board recovered time lost to illness, Traffic Safety Commission members would consider survey data on driving behaviors, including perceptions of “drug influenced” drivers.

Members reviewed already-submitted edits and suggested final changes to WSLCB recommendations on THC detectability, lab technology, product safety, and future topics.

Updates on two subgroups included a rehashing of why some technologies and testing regimes had been favored by a prior task force as staff looked ahead to finalizing recommendations.

A legislative briefing outlined expected topics in 2024; a policy and rules update touched on work groups, rulemaking, and staffing; the recently-hired director kept his “internal” focus.

Aside from a short rulemaking update, most of the meeting focused on the new agency research team, including outputs and external collaborations they had begun to develop.

With a change in the Public Health Education Liaison position expected at WSLCB before 2024, a member of the public encouraged the board to look at hiring through a “harm reduction” lens.

The intention of staff to replace CCRS with a traceability system was questioned by board members, who next learned about the new staff and portfolio for the in-house research office.

A congressional committee heard how lack of federal rulemaking on CBD and hemp products contributed to endangering consumers through sale of unsafe hemp-derived cannabinoid products.