University of Washington Addictions, Drug, and Alcohol Institute
(UW ADAI)

The winnowing of bills through the first cutoff on Wednesday was underway, and some legislation had been greatly revised to continue forward momentum.

Testimony on a Senate bill on cannabis concentrates was similar to the House counterpart, but some new points were made after the sponsor raised the specter of Reefer Madness.

Lawmaker questions focused on potential risks and negative outcomes during mostly supportive testimony on 2024 cannabis home growing legislation.

A new bill to raise the age limit on cannabis concentrates and require additional educational resources received support from prevention groups but opposition from cannabis stakeholders.

Companion “high THC” legislation was readied for the Senate, five additional bills were scheduled for committee actions, and two bills were poised for movement on Monday.

Co-sponsors flocked to new legislation, WSLCB leadership discussed two active bills, a new high-THC bill was readied, and committee schedules for the following week were published.

A rules update acknowledged more delays in some projects before public comments showed a divide on the fairness of social equity licensing and questioned cannabis research topics.

Legislators would hear about a study into “whether current levels of cannabis production align with market demand and capacity” before a WSLCB work group discussed cannabis education.

Some task force members sought input from WSLCB and DOH guests on how to proceed with hemp consumable legislation given that THC regulations were already undergoing revisions.

The operating budget that reached Governor Jay Inslee featured more than a dozen state agencies which received cannabis revenue, or were budgeted for activities related to the plant.