A bipartisan group of Washington lawmakers and the state’s regulating cannabis agency will have an eleventh-hour hearing on their plan to toss hemp-derived products from retail stores in this year’s legislative session.
A bill sponsored by state Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, revives regulation by the Washington Liquor Cannabis Board of intoxicating products that can cause effects similar to marijuana but are derived from federally legal hemp plants. A pair of bills proposed by state regulators, and one backed by the Washington Cannabusiness Association, failed to reach the floor before a deadline last month.
The failure of those bills leaves a legal gray area where stores not operating in the state’s licensed cannabis industry may sell hemp-derived products, including ones advertised as having delta-8 THC, on their shelves, Keiser said.
“Washington state has a well-designed regulatory framework for cannabis that has successfully protected consumers, encouraged a flourishing cannabis sector in our economy, and established public trust,” Keiser, who cosponsored the bill with Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, said in a statement. “Everything we have seen over the past decade indicates that this system has proven to work well.