WA weed industry should be safe, equitable. To do it, modernize Liquor and Cannabis Board

Ten years ago, Washington voters created the first legal adult-use cannabis industry in the country.

That industry drives billions in revenue to the state and provides 18,360 jobs statewide. But as we look at the last decade in preparation for the next, we are concerned Washington is losing its head-start advantage. It’s time to course correct, and we count on all industry stakeholders to work toward a common goal: a safe, equitable, quality-controlled and fully regulated market for cannabis.

Too many license-holders have been cut off early — some well before they even got started — and the agency holding the axe is the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB). In 2012, the world changed almost overnight for the LCB.