The Washington State House Committee has introduced a bill that will legalize marijuana cultivation at home. However, the number of plants per person allowed was reduced from six to four.
The panel also gutted another bill which would have prohibited the sale of high THC cannabis products to those under 25. Instead, the provision was changed to require retailers to warn their customers about the dangers of such products.
The House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee heard both bills on Monday. The members voted to approve the marijuana-homegrown measure by 7-4 and to advance the modified THC legislation by 9-2.
The cultivation bill–HB 2194, introduced by Rep. Shelly Kloba (D), who co-chairs the committee–originally would have let adults grow up to six cannabis plants, with no more than 15 per household. Rep. Greg Cheney’s (R) amendment, however, lowered the limits to no more than four plants per person or 10 per household. The change was unanimously approved.
Cheney said that some people thought six plants for home consumption was a bit high. He added that the bill as amended was “a great compromise.”
Kloba expressed his gratitude to Cheney for “his graciousness and willingness” to work with him.
She said, “This bill has been a long time in coming.” It is time to follow the example of other states.
Other Republicans, as well as one Democrat, voted against the Homegrow Bill.
Rep. Kelly Chambers is the ranking Republican member of the committee. She said that many members of her party still worry about exposing their children to marijuana. She said that this is a Pandora’s Box.
Rep. Kristine reeves, the lone Democrat who voted against the bill commented, “There are a lot unanswered in this bill with serious unintended implications.”
Reeves argued in a Hearing about the Bill earlier this month that it did not include any provisions on how to dispose plant waste.
She said, “This bill does not mention how to best protect waste management workers.”
Reeves said that the bill also “falls short in addressing our concerns about equity and making sure we protect Black and Brown constituents” as well as those with unstable housing.
She said, “This bill does not mention how it could affect consumers who currently live in hotels or motels.”
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In Washington, growing marijuana is currently a Class C crime unless you are a registered patient of medical marijuana. This can result in up to five years imprisonment and fines up to $10,000.
According to HB 2194, as amended, an adult who grows between five and ten plants would commit a civil offense, but growing 11 or greater would still be a Class C felony. The police could seize any plants that exceed the allowed threshold.
The bill clarifies that assets forfeiture cannot be justified by growing more than 10 plants.
The HB2320 high-THC bill, introduced by Rep. Lauren Davis, (D), originally prohibited the sale of cannabis-containing products with more than 35 percent total THC for adults aged 21-24. This was to reduce the risk to developing brains.
A substitute amendment from Rep. Sharon Wylie, co-chair of the committee (D), completely removed this provision. The bill as amended would require licensed retailers to post information on the potential health effects of cannabis products high in THC, particularly for people aged under 25, as well as those who are at risk or have certain mental conditions.
Wylie stated at the meeting of the committee that she had reviewed the medical literature. She found “credible studies” that did not have as strong of an indication of youth injury as some of language in the bill originally had. But, the fact that the data showed a harm for young people was enough to convince me that we needed a bill.
The original findings section of the bill, introduced by Davis said that concentrated products were “as near to cannabis plants as strawberries are to strawberry pop tarts.”
Wylie’s amended measure removed the requirement that the University of Washington Addictions Drug and Alcohol institute develop guidelines for people who are at risk of serious complications due to cannabis use. The state’s Health Care Authority will instead issue a Request for Proposals to contract a company to perform this work.
In Monday’s Executive Session the panel also advanced another bipartisan bill, HB 2182. This would require regulators from the state Liquor and Cannabis Board to create a dashboard of data that would track trends in the licensed business sector, including enforcement.
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Rep. Kristine R. Reeves, the bill’s sponsor (D), said that the measure would not only give more transparency to consumers but also inform legislators who are working to respond market trends.
Since years, Olympians have discussed versions of the THC and homegrow proposals. However, neither proposal has gained enough traction to be put to a vote in a chamber.
Davis, at an earlier hearing this month, told the committee that this is her fifth legislative session to tackle the issue of harms high-potency marijuana products cause the public’s health. Davis had originally introduced legislation for 2020, which would have limited cannabis concentrates to 10 percent THC. However, that proposal did not make it past committee.
Kloba was elected to the legislature in 2017, but efforts to allow personal cultivation date back to at least 2015.
A new cannabis bill recently introduced in Washington would undo the protections recently implemented for job applicants using marijuana. This would also remove the anti-discrimination provisions for those seeking employment in the drug treatment sector.
Legislators have also introduced legislation that would create a legal framework to allow vets and first responders access to psychedelic assisted therapy. The measure would build upon a pilot program that was signed into law in last year.
Organizers in a data-google-interstitial=”false” href=”https://www.marijuanamoment.net/washington-state/organizers are pushing to decriminalize psychoactive substances at the local levels by prioritizing enforcement of the state laws against these substances. Organizers from six Washington cities have been working on reform. They also believe that this is a good way to gain support for a state-level policy change.
The state Department of Commerce released recommendations late last year on how $200 million could be spent in order to address the racial and economic disparities that were created by the War on Drugs. The state also approved 10 million in refunds for drug convictions that were vacated.
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