We published a post on our sister Food Liability Law blog that has application to AB blog readers also. In the post, we review why popular chain restaurants have started publishing new menus with calorie and other nutrition information. The answer is to be found in the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration’s new
Compliance Checklist for Mandatory Quality Assurance Testing of Marijuana Products
To considerable fanfare – and the occasional stumble – the legal recreational marijuana industry opened for business in Washington state last week. So far, the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) has issued the state’s first 24 marijuana retailer licenses, representing the first of 334 licenses allotted by the WSLCB for retail sales who have successfully completed the Initiative 502 licensing process. Now that sales of legal marijuana and marijuana-infused products have commenced in the state, many are asking about the quality and safety of these products.
Like other food and beverage items we ingest, marijuana products can contain mites, molds, and even foodborne pathogens such as E. coli. In order to stave off potential health and safety risks, WSLCB mandated that all marijuana products undergo rigorous quality assurance testing by certified labs. In fact, as Dan Flynn at Food Safety News reports, “Washington state is off to a safer start than Colorado.” According to Flynn:
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Doors Open for Business for Licensed Marijuana Retailers in Washington State
Hundreds of eager customers lined up outside of Washington’s newly licensed marijuana retailers on Tuesday to make history by participating in the first legal sales of recreational marijuana in the state. Earlier this week, the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) issued the state’s first 24 marijuana retailer licenses. These businesses represent the first of
Will Bureau of Reclamation Leave Washington’s Marijuana Crop High and Dry?
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation provides irrigation water to one out of five farmers in the Western United States. According to Reclamation, the irrigation water it provides is used to produce 60% of our nation’s vegetables and 25% of our fruits and nuts. But Reclamation is now deciding whether to leave one Washington crop high and dry: marijuana.
Washington recently issued licenses that allow licensees to grow marijuana. But the cultivation, possession, use, and sale of marijuana remains illegal under federal law. This tension between state and federal law is forcing Reclamation to analyze whether it can provide irrigation water to contract holders who plan to grow marijuana.
The timing of Reclamation’s decision is important because the irrigation season is rapidly approaching in many parts of Washington and has already arrived in other parts of the state. The Olympian reports that Dan DuBray, a spokesman for Reclamation, recently said that Reclamation will make a decision on this issue by early May, and perhaps as early as this week.
Continue Reading Will Bureau of Reclamation Leave Washington’s Marijuana Crop High and Dry?
Spent Grains: FDA Proposed Rule May Cause Concern for Brewers
There has long existed a symbiotic relationship between brewers and farmers in which spent grains, a byproduct of the brewing process, are given or sold to farmers for use as food for livestock. A proposed rule regarding preventive controls for pet and animal food as required under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is causing
WSLCB Approves Lottery to Rank Marijuana Retail License Applicants
The Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) has approved the use of a lottery system to select the apparent successful applicants for marijuana retail licenses. WSLCB staff recommended the independent, double-blind process in order to limit the number marijuana retail stores per county as directed by Initiative 502, the measure legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in Washington state.
The lottery will take place on April 21-25, 2014, and will produce an ordered list of applicants for each jurisdiction that the agency will use to continue its retail licensing process. The WSLCB is expected to post that ordered list of applicants for each jurisdiction in the public records section of the agency website on May 2, 2014.
Continue Reading WSLCB Approves Lottery to Rank Marijuana Retail License Applicants
Colorado Amends Ethics Rules to Provide Safe Harbor for Lawyers Advising Marijuana Businesses
According to a new comment adopted by Colorado’s Supreme Court last week, Colorado lawyers who provide legal services to state-regulated medical and recreational marijuana businesses will not violate the state’s Rules of Professional Conduct.
The rule change added the following comment to Rule 1.2 regarding the scope of representation and allocation of authority between
What Distillers Can Expect From the Passage of SB 6226
Content authored by Susan Johnson, Stephanie Meier and Claire Mitchell:
Over the last decade the number of micro or craft distillers in the U.S. has gone up by almost 30 percent a year, going from just 50 in 2005 to more than 600 in 2013, according to the industry group the American Distilling Institute (ADI). Washington is a leader in this growing industry. The state boasts 83 distillers, more than any other state in the nation. Yet despite this remarkable growth, it is difficult for distilleries, especially small ones, to survive. Startup costs are often extremely high and zoning regulations can be cumbersome to navigate. In addition, most state laws restrict craft distilleries from selling spirits directly to retailers and consumers, and from charging for on-premises samples.
However, the Washington legislature recently passed a bill–SB 6226–that seeks to help distillers overcome some of these hurdles. The bill, originally sponsored by Senators Holmquist Newbry, King, Conway, Hewitt, and Kohl-Welles aims at removing burdensome restrictions on distillery operations and supporting the state’s emerging craft-distillery industry by accomplishing the following:
- Increasing the annual spirits production limit for craft distillers from 60,000 gallons to 150,000 gallons.
- Eliminating the 3 liter per day per person limit on the sale of spirits by a craft distiller for off-premises consumption.
- Authorizing a craft distillery to charge customers a fee for spirits samples of 0.5 ounce or less served to them on-premises.
- Authorizing any licensed distillery to: 1.) sell spirits of its own production for consumption off the premises; 2.) contract with, and sell spirits to, other licensed distillers and manufacturers; and, 3.) provide for free, or for a charge, spirits samples of 0.5 ounce or less to customers on the premises, subject to a daily maximum of 2 ounces per person per day.
Continue Reading What Distillers Can Expect From the Passage of SB 6226
First Recreational Marijuana Licenses Issued in Washington
The Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) issued the state’s first licenses to produce and process recreational marijuana today. According to news reports, the licenses were issued to Spokane’s Sean Green who will operate his business under the trade name Kouchlock Productions.
The WSLCB began processing applications for all three license types (producer
Legal Marijuana Business Faces Increased Local Resistance in Wake of Recent Washington State AG Opinion
Despite the fact that implementation of Initiative 502 (I-502), a measure legalizing the recreational use of marijuana that was approved by Washington voters in 2012, is in full swing, and other states such as Florida and New York are loosening their laws on the use of medical marijuana, there is growing resistance to legal
Initiative 522 Defeated in Washington
Based on preliminary results from Tuesday’s election, it appears that Washington State’s hotly debated Initiative 522 (I-522) concerning the labeling of genetically-engineered foods has gone the way of California’s Proposition 37. Washington officials reported on Wednesday, November 6, 2013 that voters had rejected the measure, 54% to 46%. California’s similar labeling measure, Proposition