Washington

A social equity bill in Washington that would also unlock out-of-state investments for the adult-use cannabis industry has received pushback from some industry advocates.

Washington’s Liquor and Cannabis Board has paid nearly $2 million for Leaf Data Systems, the seed-to-sale tracking system that has consistently frustrated the state’s cannabis industry.

A Washington state Senator is aiming to tackle the issue of regulating strong cannabis odors with a specialized state task force.

Chris Hagedorn is the general manager for Hawthorne Gardening Company, a business venture that provides all the cultivation needs of a state-legal cannabis operator.

According to polling data from the major metro areas of Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco, there are more adults 18-and-older who have used cannabis recently than smoked cigarettes.

A new study by the University of Washington suggests that parents’ cannabis use, past or present, may be linked to their children’s substance abuse tendencies and overall health.

Washington regulators have issued a 120-day temporary ban of all flavored vaporizers, including nicotine- and cannabis-based products; the governor has called for lawmakers to pass legislation making the ban permanent.

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board granted a two-month extension to the state’s long-troubled seed-to-sale traceability system Leaf Data Systems, provided by MJ Freeway.

Uncle Ike’s dispensary in Seattle, Washington recently ran a barrage of lab tests on cannabis vaporizers in the shop to search for vitamin E acetate, the compound linked to a recent swell of vape-related hospitalizations. 100% of the products passed the tests.

A group of six people allegedly stole about $250,000 worth of freshly cured cannabis flower from a cultivation facility in Kelso, Washington over the weekend; owners are offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

Washington state regulators are considering what they call “Cannabis 2.0” reforms to the state’s adult-use industry, which could include a social equity program and the abandoning of the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system.

Washington state Ag Department officials recently clarified that hemp-derived CBD is not allowed as a food additive.

Jay Burns is the founder and lab director of Treeline Analytics, a cannabis testing lab that operates in Washington’s pioneering I-502 adult-use market.

Organizers of Seattle’s Hempfest are suing the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board over the regulators’ new interpretations of advertising restrictions, which advocates say violate their first amendment right to free speech.

Hemp farms in Washington are expected to expand from last year’s 140 acres to more than 6,000 acres of hemp this year now that the crop has been federally legalized via the 2018 farm bill.

Researchers at the University of Washington are undertaking a study to measure the effects of cannabis use during pregnancy.

Washington’s governor signed the state’s misdemeanor cannabis vacancies bill. Under the new law, some 69,000 qualifying individuals will be able to have misdemeanor cannabis convictions expunged from their record entirely.

Washington state has officially passed two laws meant to improve the state’s medical cannabis program; one bill allows student patients to be administered cannabis products at school and the other allows patients to renew their annual qualification online.

Researchers at the University of Washington are investigating the efficacy of CBD for Fragile X syndrome, a type of autism that may be linked to cannabinoid deficiencies.

A bill that would expunge nearly 69,000 misdemeanor cannabis convictions in Washington state has been approved by both legislative bodies and now moves to Gov. Jay Inslee (D) for his signature.

Washington has established a clearer timeline for the official completion of the state’s long-awaited cannabis seed to sale traceability system.