Washington: Market and legal data analysis of the cannabis sector

12th March 2024: US - Washington DC: President Joe Biden has released his fiscal year 2025 draft budget, which again includes a provision that prevents Washington DC from using its local tax dollars to establish a commercial cannabis market. Despite the legalisation of cannabis possession and home cultivation by DC voters in 2014, the ban has persisted each year as part of the final spending packages. However, proponents of cannabis law reform were hopeful the president would finally propose removing the provision – especially just after becoming the first US president to promote cannabis reform during a State of the Union address. The Biden budget plan also maintains a prohibition on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) using federal funds to interfere with state-implemented medical cannabis programmes. In addition, it keeps formerly established federal protections for hemp businesses.
1st March 2024: US - Washington: House Bill (HB) 2320 has been passed by the Senate and now heads to the governor. HB 2320 would require dispensaries to post notices about the dangers of high-THC cannabis products and require the Department of Health to develop and offer an optional training for retailers about the impact of high-THC products. It also states that the legislature intends to review studies about high-THC products and consider raising the age to purchase them to 25.
23rd February 2024: US - Washington: House Bill (HB) 1249 has been passed by the Senate and now heads to the governor’s desk. HB 1249 would amend the permissible daily amount of cannabis-infused products in liquid form that can be distributed. For cannabis-infused products in liquid form that are packaged in individual units containing no more than 4 mg of THC per unit, the limit would be set at 200 mg of THC.
14th February 2024: US - Washington: Senate Bill (SB) 5546 has been passed by the Senate and now heads to the House. SB 5546 would establish the Washington state cannabis commission, with the purpose of "materially advancing the producing and processing of cannabis and improving environmental sustainability in the cannabis producing and processing sectors" through research of best practices in cannabis production.
12th February 2024: US - Washington: House Bill (HB) 1249 has been passed by the House and now heads to the Senate. HB 1249 would amend the permissible daily amount of cannabis-infused products in liquid form that can be distributed. For cannabis-infused products in liquid form that are packaged in individual units containing no more than 4 mg of THC per unit, the limit would be set at 200 mg of THC.
12th February 2024: US - Washington: House Bill (HB) 2320 has been passed by the House and now heads to the Senate. HB 2320 would require dispensaries to post notices about the dangers of high-THC cannabis products and require the Department of Health to develop and offer an optional training for retailers about the impact of high-THC products. It also states that the legislature intends to review studies about high-THC products and consider raising the age to purchase them to 25.
12th May 2023: US - Washington: Senate Bill (SB) 5367 has been signed by governor Jay Inslee and enacted into law. The bill amends definitions of certain terms, such as “cannabis”, “cannabis products”, "hemp consumable" and “THC” in the state’s cannabis laws. The THC definition is amended to include all THC isomers (not just delta-9). Moreover, cannabis health, beauty aids and Food and Drug Administration-approved products – as defined in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 69.50.575 – are excluded from the cannabis product definition. The bill’s effect on full-spectrum hemp products is not clear because it excludes hemp from the definition of cannabis but also includes “any product intended to be consumed or absorbed inside the body by any means including inhalation, ingestion, or insertion, with any detectable amount of THC” in its definition of cannabis products.
5th May 2023: US - Washington: Senate Bill 5069 has been signed by governor Jay Inslee and enacted into law. SB 5069 grants the governor the authority to enter into agreements with other states that would start preliminary cross-jurisdictional efforts to permit interstate trade between licensed cannabis companies. However, such effects of the act would be pending a federal law change that allows “for the interstate transfer of cannabis between authorized cannabis-related businesses”, or if the US Department of Justice issues an opinion “allowing or tolerating interstate transfer of cannabis”.
21st April 2023: US - Washington: Senate Bill (SB) 5367 has been passed by the House and now heads to the governor's desk. The bill would amend definitions of certain terms, such as “cannabis”, “cannabis products”, "hemp consumable" and “THC” in the state’s cannabis laws. The THC definition would also be amended to include all THC isomers (not just delta-9), and cannabis health and beauty aids – as defined in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 69.50.575 – would be excluded from the cannabis product definition. The bill’s effect on full-spectrum hemp products is not clear because it excludes hemp from the definition of cannabis but also includes “any product intended to be consumed or absorbed inside the body by any means including inhalation, ingestion, or insertion, with any detectable amount of THC” in its definition of cannabis products.
17th April 2023: US - Washington state: Senate Bill (SB) 5069 has been passed by the Senate, with minor amendments made by the House, and now heads to the governor for his signature. SB 5069 would grant the governor the authority to enter into agreements with other states that would start preliminary cross-jurisdictional efforts to permit interstate trade between licensed cannabis companies. However, such effects of the act would be pending a federal law change that allows “for the interstate transfer of cannabis between authorized cannabis-related businesses”, or if the US Department of Justice issues an opinion “allowing or tolerating interstate transfer of cannabis”.
13th April 2023: US - Washington state: Senate Bill 5069 has been passed with a minor amendment by the House which now awaits Senate approval before the bill goes to the governor’s desk. SB 5069 would grant the governor authority to enter into agreements with other states to permit interstate trade between licensed cannabis companies. However, that would still require a federal law change, or an opinion issued by the US Department of Justice “allowing or tolerating interstate transfer of cannabis”.

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