Due to the explosive growth of craft beer sales in many states, including Washington, many distributors are combining non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverage sales into their distribution business. A key point for Washington distributors is to be aware that the Washington Liquor Control Board (WLCB) contends that the so-called “Tied-House” rules governing the sale of alcoholic … Continue Reading
Attention Washington state retailers: the Washington State Liquor Control Board is kicking off a youth access compliance check program this month. Here’s a guidance the WSLCB recently issued about the program. The Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) Enforcement and Education Division’s youth access compliance check program will be beginning in May 2015. The purpose … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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, processor and … Continue Reading
UPDATE: Although the RPC proposal mentioned below is still under consideration by the Washington State Supreme Court, the KCBA Board of Trustees has adopted an ethics advisory opinion to assist the bar in the interim as attorneys consider practice issues under the existing RPCs. The full text of the KCBA Ethics Advisory Opinion on I-502 & Rules of … Continue Reading
Over the next few weeks, the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) Marijuana Licensing staff will be conducting a series of educational seminars across Washington State. During the seminars, WSLCB staff will be advising potential licensees of the license application process under Initiative 502 and will be available to answer any additional questions. Those interested … Continue Reading
With several states now moving forward with legalized medical or recreational marijuana regulatory schemes, how to obtain business financing remains a hurdle legal marijuana growers and distributers have yet to solve. As noted in a recent New York Times article, “financial institutions, security providers and landlords that serve marijuana businesses can be prosecuted for racketeering, … Continue Reading
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice finally addressed its enforcement strategy as it relates to the recent Washington and Colorado initiatives legalizing marijuana in those jurisdictions. In a memo issued to U.S. Attorneys (PDF), Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole announced that the United States would not sue the states to overturn the voter-endorsed … Continue Reading
About a month ago, the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) issued initial draft rules implementing Initiative 502 (I-502)(PDF), Washington state’s recently enacted marijuana reform law. You can read more about those draft rules here in one of our previous blog posts on the subject. Since mid-May, WSLCB has been accepting public comment regarding the … Continue Reading
Stoel Rives attorneys Susan Johnson and Jim Shore will be part of the faculty for a one-day Law Seminars International conference on June 11 regarding Washington’s Initiative 502 that legalized the recreational use of marijuana. Susan will serve as co-chair of the conference, while Jim will present on I502 implications for employer policies and procedures. … Continue Reading
With the initial draft rules implementing Initiative 502 (I-502) (PDF) issued just last week and still fresh on the public’s mind, Seattle Times reporter Bob Young and three I-502 experts held a live chat today to answer specific questions about the new rules. State Liquor Control Board Deputy Director Rick Garza, ACLU of Washington drug-policy director … Continue Reading
Movie theaters with restaurant-style food service will reach a broader audience with the recent signing into law of a bill passed by the Washington State Legislature allowing service of food and alcoholic beverages to their patrons. The law as currently written allows some service of alcohol in movie theaters, but requires exclusion of minors from the … Continue Reading
Stoel Rives LLP offers its congratulations to Rick Garza on his appointment as Director of the Washington State Liquor Control Board. Today the agency issued a press release announcing the appointment will be effective June 1, 2013. Garza will be assuming leadership in a time of unprecedented change – the agency is on the tail end … Continue Reading
It looks like the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) is on track to meet the first of several milestones in the implementation of Initiative 502 (I-502), Washington State’s recently passed marijuana reform law. According to a tweet earlier today from I-502 Implementation (@I502implement), we can expect to see the first draft of I-502 implementing … Continue Reading
This week, a bill passed the Washington legislature that will allow a craft distillery to sell more of its product to customers visiting its distillery. House Bill 1149 has been sent to Governor Inslee to sign in to law, amending RCW 66.24.145 to allow a craft distillery to sell a maximum of three liters of spirits … Continue Reading
This week, the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) held the first two of six public forums it intends to host across Washington State regarding the implementation of Initiative 502. The first forum was held at the WSLCB Headquarters in Olympia on Tuesday night. According to news reports, hundreds of people flocked to the event … Continue Reading
Following up on our posts on Washington Initiative 502, my colleague Claire Mitchell had the chance to speak with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN regarding the initiative and its implementation for businesses. In the brief interview, Claire explained the rulemaking by the Washington State Liquor Control Board currently underway and offered thoughts on what Washington’s marijuana industry may look like. … Continue Reading
The Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) announced its tentative timeline for implementation of Initiative 502 (I-502) yesterday. WSLCB developed this timeline in order to keep the public informed and to identify significant milestones in the implementation process. Rulemaking began in early December with the filing of CR101 for the Producer License, a notice of proposed rulemaking. WSLCB is still accepting public … Continue Reading
In Part I of our “Understanding Washington Initiative 502” (“I-502”) series, we described how I-502’s licensing regime is scheduled to go into effect late next year. There is no question that I-502 legalizes possession of certain amounts of marijuana under Washington law, and the state licensing structure aimed at regulating the production, distribution, and retail sale of … Continue Reading
My colleague Wendy Goffe, a trusts and estates attorney in our Seattle office and a regular contributor to Forbes, wrote a fascinating article about Washington Initiative 502 (I-502), the marijuana reform law. As those of you who haven’t been sleeping under a rock already know, the initiative appeared on the November 2012 General Ballot and passed … Continue Reading
Today, the Washington State Liquor Control Board issued its notice of proposed rulemaking to inform stakeholders that the agency is in the initial stage of drafting rules to implement marijuana “producer” licenses and their requirements under Initiative 502. The Initiative was passed by Washington voters earlier this year. During this stage of the rulemaking process, … Continue Reading
by Susan Johnson and Claire Mitchell As we reported last week, Washington Initiative 502 (I-502), a marijuana law reform measure which appeared on the November 2012 general ballot, won the popular vote passing by a margin of approximately 55% to 45%. Now that the initiative has passed, as of December 6, 2012, it will be … Continue Reading
Co-authored by Susan Johnson and Stephanie Meier Earlier this week, Washington Initiative 502 (I-502), a marijuana law reform measure which appeared on the November 2012 general ballot, won the popular vote passing by a margin of approximately 55% to 45%. As a result, beginning on December 6, 2012, the initiative that is now law will … Continue Reading
