The Washington State Liquor Control Board has a plethora of information available about I502 or legal marijuana on its website.

I thought I’d put a post up with links, since I’ve had some requests for an informational section on the rules (I’d love to link something like that down the side of this site but unfortunately our internal version of WordPress won’t let me do anything but the basics).

So here are a few links:

I502 Fact Sheet: http://www.liq.wa.gov/marijuana/fact_sheet
I502 Full Text: http://lcb.wa.gov/publications/Marijuana/I-502/i502.pdf
I502 Listserv (where you can sign up for email – right side of page, lower link): http://listserv.wa.gov/cgi-bin/wa?A0=LCB-I502
Marijuana sales and license list: http://www.liq.wa.gov/records/frequently-requested-lists
FAQ on rules: http://www.liq.wa.gov/marijuana/faq_rules
Rules at a glance: http://lcb.wa.gov/publications/Marijuana/I-502/I-502_Draft_Rule_Summary_IIIX_02-27-14.pdf

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And here’s a transcript of their Fact Sheet if you just want to look at it on our site:

Initiative 502’s Impact on the Washington State Liquor Control Board

Summary

Initiative 502 would license and regulate marijuana production, distribution, and possession for persons over 21; remove state-law criminal and civil penalties for activities that it authorizes. It would tax marijuana sales and earmark marijuana-related revenues. The new tightly regulated and licensed system would be similar to those used to control alcohol.

Licenses and Fees

Creates an application process that mirrors the liquor license application process.
Creates three new marijuana licenses: producer, processor, and retailer. The fee for each license is a $250 application fee and $1000 annual renewal fee.

Marijuana Producer: produces marijuana for sale at wholesale to marijuana processors and allows for production, possession, delivery, distribution.

Marijuana Processor: processes, packages, and labels marijuana/marijuana infused product for sale at wholesale to marijuana retailers and allows for processing, packaging, possession, delivery, distribution.

Marijuana Retailer: allows for sale of usable marijuana/marijuana infused products at retail outlets regulated by the WSLCB.

The initiative allows the WSLCB to charge fees for anything done to implement/enforce the act. For example, fees could be charged on sampling, testing, and labeling that would be the cost of doing business as a licensee.

Marijuana Taxes

The initiative creates three new excise taxes to be collected by the WSLCB:

Excise tax equal to 25% of the selling price on each sale between licensed producer and licensed processor. Paid by the producer.

Excise tax equal to 25% of the selling price on each sale of usable marijuana/marijuana infused product from a licensed processor to a licensed retailer. Paid by the processor.

Excise tax equal to 25% of the selling price on each licensed retail sale of usable marijuana/marijuana infused product. Paid by the retailer. This tax is in addition to any/all applicable general, state, and local sales and use taxes, and is part of the total retail price.

All funds from marijuana excise taxes are deposited in the Dedicated Marijuana Fund. Disbursements from the Dedicated Marijuana Fund shall be on authorization of the WSLCB or a duly authorized representative.

Initiative 502 allows for the WSLCB to enact rules that establish procedures and criteria for:

The equipment, management and inspection of production, processing, and retail outlets.

Books and records maintained by licensed premises.

Methods of producing, processing and packaging of marijuana/marijuana infused products, to include conditions of sanitation.

Standards of ingredients, quality, and identity of marijuana/marijuana infused products produced, processed and sold by licensees.

Security requirements for retail outlets and premises where marijuana is produced and processed.

Retail Outlets

Specific number of retail outlets and licenses will be determined by the WSLCB in consultation with the Office of Financial Management taking into account population, security and safety issues, and discouraging illegal markets. The initiative also caps retail licenses by county.

Retail outlets may not employ anyone under the age of 21, nor allow anyone under the age of 21 to enter the premises.

Retail outlets are only authorized to sell marijuana/marijuana products or paraphernalia.

Retailers are allowed one sign identifying the outlet’s business or trade name, not to exceed 1600 square inches.

They are not allowed to display marijuana or marijuana related products in a manner that is visible to the general public.

Possession

Individuals twenty-one years of age or older are legally authorized to possess and use:

One ounce of usable marijuana.

16 ounces of marijuana infused product in solid form; or

72 ounces of marijuana infused product in liquid form.

Marijuana-related drug paraphernalia.

Individuals will still be subject to criminal prosecution for:

Possession in amounts greater than what is listed above.

Possession of any quantity or kind of marijuana/marijuana infused product by a person under 21 years of age.

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And here are a few more tidbits:

License Limits

o Licensed entity or principals limited to three one producer licenses
o Licensed entity or principals limited to three processor licenses
o Licensed entity or principals limited to three retail licenses. Multiple-location licensees not allowed to
hold more than 33 percent of the allowed licenses in any county or city.

Producer License Reduction

o The WSLCB received 2,858 marijuana producer applications. The plant canopy of these applications
far exceeds a manageable plant canopy set by the Board in its rules.
o To make a manageable plant canopy for marijuana production, the Board filed an interim policy that
limits any qualified entity or principals within any entity to one marijuana producer license.
o Applicants will have the option of withdrawing their additional applications for a refund or having their
additional applications held up to one year or until the Board determines more marijuana producer
licenses are needed.

Production Limits

o The maximum amount of space for marijuana production is limited to two million square feet.
o Applicants must designate on their operating plan the size category of the production premises and the
actual square footage in their premises that will be designated as plant canopy.

There are three categories:
 Tier 1: Less than 2,000 square feet;
 Tier 2: 2,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet;
 Tier 3: 10,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet.

The LCB may reduce a licensee’s or applicants’ square footage designated to plant canopy for the
following reasons:

 If the total amount of square feet for production of all licensees exceeds the two million square
feet maximum, the LCB will reduce the allowed square footage by the same percentage.
 If 50 percent production space used for plant canopy in the licensee’s operating plan is not met
in the first year of operation, the board may reduce the tier of licensure.
 If the total amount of square feet of marijuana production exceeds two million square feet, the
LCB may reduce all licensees’ production by the same percentage or reduce licensee
production by one or more tiers by the same percentage.

Note: The Board reduced the production capacity of all tiers by 30 percent to establish the market on February
19, 2014.

Consumer Safety

Behind the Counter Storage

o No open containers or handling of product
o Sniff jars with sealed, screened-top lids allowed

Strict Packaging and Label Requirements

o Limited servings and concentration per package
o Lot number
o Warning label
o Net weight
o Concentration of THC
o Usage warnings (specific warning for ingestible foods/liquids about effect delays)

Upon request:
 Third party lab that tested lot and results
 All pesticides, herbicides, fungicides found in product

Defined Serving Size
Defined serving sizes on marijuana-infused product label
 10 mg of THC per serving
 100 mg of THC per product
 A single unit of marijuana-infused extract for inhalation cannot exceed one gram

Transaction Limits on Concentrates (extracts)
o A single transaction is limited to seven grams of marijuana-infused extract for inhalation