Washington State Liquor Control Board<\/a> on Wednesday approved the proposed rules that, if ultimately enacted, will help govern the state\u2019s system of producing, processing and retailing recreational marijuana.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nThe 42-page, single-spaced rules detail the requirements for participating in Washington\u2019s system, according to a liquor board media release.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Here is the release:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic safety is our top priority,\u201d said Board Chair Sharon Foster. \u201cThese rules fulfill the public expectation of creating a tightly regulated and controlled system while providing reasonable access to participation in the market.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The foundation for the rule-making began soon after the November 2012 passage of Initiative 502. The board held eight public forums statewide that drew more than 3,000 attendees, 11 internal teams performed staff work ranging from research to policy recommendations, and individual board members and staff presented at dozens of public and trade events to listen and communicate status. Most recently, on May 16, the board publicly issued its initial draft seeking comment by June 10, 2013.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the overall response to our initial draft was quite positive,\u201d continued Foster, \u201cwe received quality input from local governments, law enforcement, industry members, the prevention community and many others that we incorporated and further improved the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Key Public Safety Elements<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\nPublic safety is the top priority of the Washington State Liquor Control Board.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 All grows must meet strictly controlled on-site security requirements;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Strict surveillance and transportation requirements;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Robust traceability software system that will track inventory from start to sale;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Criminal background checks on all license applicants;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tough penalty guidelines for public safety violations including loss of license;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Restricting certain advertising that may be targeted at children.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Key Consumer Safety Elements<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\nThe proposed rules provide a heightened level of consumer safety that has not existed previously.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Packaging and label requirements including dosage and warnings;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Child-resistant packaging for marijuana in solid and liquid forms;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Only lab tested and approved products will be available;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Defined serving sizes and package limits on marijuana in solid form;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Store signage requirements to educate customers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Timeline<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\nJuly 3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Proposed rules filed with Code Reviser (CR 102)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
August 6-8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Public hearings on proposed rules<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
August 14\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rules adopted<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
September 16\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rules become effective<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
September 16,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Begin accepting applications for all three licenses (30-day window)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
December 1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rules are complete (as mandated by law)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Dec. 2013\/Jan. 2014\u00a0\u00a0 Begin issuing producer, processor and retailer licenses<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Public Hearings<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Public hearings on the proposed rules are being scheduled in four locations across Washington August 6-8. The locations are tentatively scheduled for Olympia, Seattle-area, Ellensburg and Spokane. The WSLCB will soon post the dates and locations on its website at www.liq.wa.gov<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Washington State Liquor Control Board on Wednesday approved the proposed rules that, if ultimately enacted, will help govern the state\u2019s system of producing, processing and retailing recreational marijuana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-14655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14655"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14655\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14655"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=14655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}