Washington to make changes to Party of Interest Classifications

Understanding who qualifies as a True Party of Interest has tripped up more than one license-holder in Washington’s legal Cannabis industry. For years, spouses were also vetted and considered true parties of interest. In fact, we’ve written about it before. The Washington State Attorney General’s office cited the “long history of criminality” around Cannabis and the potential for a spouse to act as a “straw person” to a license as justification for this limitation. However, the spousal rule, as well as several other true party of interest classifications are going to change in October of 2020.

It’s been a long road to these changes. Stakeholder engagement starting in late 2018 coincided with new legislation in the form of Senate Bill 5318, focusing on education over punishment when it comes to WSLCB enforcement. Now that Senate Bill 5318 has been signed into law, the WSLCB Board has enacted these new changes.

Washington to make changes to Party of Interest Classifications