A bill on the desk of Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee (D) would exempt registered medical marijuana patients from the state’s 37 percent cannabis excise tax, which is currently one of the highest in the country. The exemption would only apply, however, to products that have been certified to higher testing standards than typical state-legal products.
HB 1453, which lawmakers sent to the governor last week, would allow registered patients and caregivers to avoid the tax when purchasing products that are compliant with Department of Health (DOH) testing standards. Medical marijuana cardholders already are eligible for exemptions from sales and use taxes on cannabis, but they are not currently exempt from the state excise tax.
The tax exemption would apply only to products that are DOH-compliant, meaning the products have been tested more rigorously for safety. While manufacturers in the state are required to submit all medical and adult-use products to labs for testing, producers can voluntarily have additional testing done—to screen for heavy metals, for example—that isn’t otherwise required. Marijuana that passes the additional testing can be labeled with a DOH-developed logo.
“This bill will lead to a wider variety of DOH-compliant cannabis products on the market available to
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