Dockside Cannabis

Panelists representing regulators and licensees in Washington and elsewhere weighed in on issues and challenges affecting innovation in the cannabis sector before taking questions.

DOH staff heard stories and suggestions from patients, advocates, and other stakeholders on how to improve affordability, access, and understanding of medically compliant cannabis products.

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.

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.

Testimony on a bill to exempt registered medical cannabis patients from the excise tax on DOH compliant products was supportive and elicited several questions from lawmakers.

While cannabis retail would remain cash heavy if SB 5927 were enacted, senators unanimously voted for a one year sentencing enhancement for first and second degree robberies.

Director of Legislative Relations Chris Thompson described the status of cannabis-related bills, and the potential that cannabinoid request legislation would fail in part due to “misinformation.”

A bill to grant all medical cannabis patients protection from arrest received almost entirely positive testimony, along with complaints about homegrowing and cannabis scheduling policy.

The second policy committee hearing on legislation extending arrest protections to all authorized medical cannabis patients elicited similar testimony and substantial sign in support.

Testimony in the fiscal committee hearing on cannabis home grow was mostly positive with over one hundred people signed in support, while a small group voiced concerns about youth access and normalization.