WASHINGTON
ADULT USE + MEDICALSTATE REGULATORY PROFILE · MEDICAL EST. 1998 · ADULT USE EST. 2012
Legal Status
Current program type
ADULT USE + MEDICAL
MEDICAL SINCE 1998
ADULT USE SINCE 2012
Active Bills
Refreshed daily
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TRACKED IN WA
Latest Action
Most recent movement
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Advancing
Committee or later
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OF 0 BILLS
Regulatory Framework
Program details
RegulatorLCB
Track & TraceCCRS
Lab AccreditationISO 17025
License RenewalAnnual
Application Fee$1,062
Retail Cap556
Apps Currently OpenNo
Tax Rate37%
Market TierCapped
Program Features
Permitted activities
Delivery Permitted✗ NO
Consumption Sites✗ NO
Social Equity Program✓ YES
ACTIVE LEGISLATION IN WASHINGTON
Bill #TitleStatus
REGULATORY TIMELINE
LEGALIZATION
REFORM
ENFORCEMENT
PROCEDURAL
JUL 1, 2015REFORM
Tax restructured to single 37% retail rate
Washington replaces I-502’s three-tier 25% excise structure with a single retail-level 37% excise tax, and folds the separate medical system into the regulated adult-use market.
JUL 8, 2014LEGALIZATION
First adult-use retail sales begin
Washington’s first licensed recreational stores open — just over a month after Colorado — after the Liquor and Cannabis Board spent 2013 writing rules. Initial demand far outstripped supply, driving shortages and high prices.
DEC 6, 2012LEGALIZATION
I-502 takes effect; possession legal
Possession of up to one ounce becomes legal for adults 21+, and per se THC DUI limits take effect. Notably, I-502 did not legalize home cultivation — a restriction unique among early legal states.
NOV 6, 2012LEGALIZATION
Voters approve Initiative 502
Washington voters approve adult-use legalization 56-44 — the same day as Colorado, making the two the first jurisdictions in the world to legalize recreational cannabis by popular vote. The Liquor and Cannabis Board is tasked with regulating it like alcohol.
SOURCE ↗1998LEGALIZATION
Voters legalize medical cannabis
Washington voters approve medical use for patients with terminal or debilitating conditions, though the measure created no licensed production or retail structure — that came only with I-502.
SOURCE ↗This page is maintained by hand, so a detail can drift. Spot something off or missing for Washington? Tell me and I'll fix it.
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