The Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) has set its process for issuing new licenses under the Social Equity in Cannabis Program.

LCB announced the administrative rulemaking process in a letter to AWC. The letter provides some clarification about the process to expand and improve the Social Equity in Cannabis Program as outlined in SB 5080, including revisions to the scoring and application process, county licensing thresholds, and local jurisdiction objections.

It’s important to note that SB 5080 did not change any of the existing licensing provisions for cannabis businesses and also did not preempt existing local regulatory authority. This means that cities that don’t allow cannabis retail will be able to object to any new license applications in their jurisdiction. 

With that, businesses will be allowed to apply for licenses in the registration window that’s planned for early to mid-spring of 2025. Cities that do not allow cannabis retail in their city may submit objections related to any businesses bidding for a license for LCB to consider in its license decision-making process. Per LCB’s interpretation of SB 5080 and thus, this rulemaking, LCB says it will consider concerns about cannabis siting locations only for cities that had local ordinances in effect before the application period that begins in spring 2025.

If you’d like to weigh in on the rules process and LCB’s interpretation, you can submit written comments to LCB Policy and Rules Manager, Cassidy West at rules@lcb.wa.gov by December 18, 2024.

This topic will be discussed at an LCB Board meeting on December 4, 2024 at 10 am and the final rules are expected to be adopted on December 18, 2024.

Background

Here’s a refresher on how this change came about.

The Legislature worked in 2023 to update statewide cannabis siting processes to ensure a more equitable distribution of cannabis licenses to individuals from disadvantaged communities most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.

The Legislature did so by expanding the Social Equity in Cannabis Program in 2023 via passage of SB 5080, which added new retail licenses. The policy was recommended by the Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force final report.

Under the legislation, LCB was authorized to:

• Issue up to 52 new cannabis retailer social equity licenses between January 1, 2024 and July 1, 2032;
• Issue up to 100 new cannabis processor licenses immediately; and
• Issue the new licenses in areas where they are not prohibited by local ordinance.

LCB is further required to ensure geographic disbursement in new equity licenses and allow an opportunity for the local government to object to issuance of a new license.

MRSC map of local zoning ordinances

For a refresher on which jurisdictions in Washington allow state-licensed cannabis business, check out this interactive map from our friends at MRSC, listed with a last-updated date of July 2024.