The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) voted and approved the Social Equity in Cannabis rule proposal yesterday morning, October 11. The Board’s approval will add section “570” to Washington Annotated Code Chapter 314-55.
There was hope that the public comment period would yield some meaningful alterations to section 570, but the rule remains unchanged and that’s a shame. Section 570 will become effective November 12, 2022.
Section 570 is hardly making its way to becoming law with favorable winds and following seas. There are some remaining uncertainties about implementation of section 570 and doubts among stakeholders that it will be done efficiently. During the Board meeting this morning, the LCB said that it expects to be able to accept applications for section 570 licenses “in 2023”.
As several stakeholders at the Board meeting lamented, the absence of a concrete plan for rolling out the licensing regime after two years of working on the rule leaves much to be desired by the community hoping to take advantage of the licenses. Further, some stakeholder interest groups have had choice words for the entirety of section 570’s substantive provisions. This is all taking place in an environment in which certain stakeholders
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