The state of Washington is set to dole out more than 40 new cannabis retail licenses this month to so-called social equity applicants––but the deadline is fast approaching. 

With the application period kicking off on March 1, qualified prospective license holders have until March 30 to apply. 

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, a state regulatory agency overseeing the two industries, is handling the social equity applications. 

According to the agency, more than 40 licenses that “were forfeited, cancelled, revoked or never issued will be available in specific jurisdictions across the state” as part of the program.

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board says that, in order to qualify for the social equity cannabis program, applicants must meet the following criteria:

“At least a 51 percent majority, or controlling interest, in the applicant, must be held by a person(s), who has or have resided in Washington state for six months prior to the application date, and meets at least two of the following qualifications: lived in a disproportionately impacted area (DIA) in Washington state for a minimum of five years between 1980 and 2010 … OR applicant or a family member has been arrested or convicted of a cannabis offense; OR household income was less than the median household income within the state of Washington ($82,400).” 

According to Axios, applicants “who have served time in prison for a cannabis offense will get higher priority when it comes to distributing the social equity licenses,” as will those applicants who “make less than the state’s median income, and who have lived in areas with high rates of drug convictions, poverty, and unemployment.”

Social equity provisions have become the norm in states that legalize recreational cannabis for adults, as advocates have stressed the importance of remedying harms inflicted on individuals and communities in the era of prohibition. 

But in Washington, which became one of the first two states to legalize recreational marijuana back in 2012, those social equity provisions did not come until later. 

The ballot measure approved by voters there more than a decade ago, Initiative 502, “did not include provisions or create programs to acknowledge the disproportionate harms the enforcement of cannabis laws had on certain populations and communities,” the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board explained earlier this year, when it announced the more than 40 social equity applications that would be made available. 

The state created the social equity cannabis program in 2020, when the state’s Democratic governor, Jay Inslee, signed a bill into law that provided “the opportunity to provide a limited number of cannabis retail licenses to individuals disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of cannabis prohibition laws.”

“The LCB recognizes that cannabis prohibition laws were disproportionately enforced for decades and that the cumulative harms from this enforcement remain today,” the agency explains on its website. “In 2020, in response to a policy priority identified by the Board, the LCB developed agency-request legislation created the state Social Equity program, the Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force and the opportunity to provide a limited number of cannabis retail licenses to individuals disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of cannabis prohibition laws.”

But the state clearly still has a lot of work to do; as Axios noted, more than 10 years after the voters there made history, Washington’s cannabis industry “remains dominated by white entrepreneurs.”

The State Liquor and Cannabis Board reported in January 2020 that 82% of cannabis retailers in Washington were owned by white individuals. Only 3% were owned by Black residents, and 2% were Hispanic-owned. 

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The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) has officially announced that it will open up social equity applications on March 1. The window for applications will only last 30 days, ending by 5 p.m. on the deadline.

Only 44 licenses that were previously “forfeited, canceled, revoked, or never issued” are being made available to those who qualify. Applicants must have been living in a disproportionately impacted area (DIA), which is defined as having a high poverty rate, participation in “income-based federal programs,” unemployment, and rate of convictions, between 1980 to 2010. Applicants must have been convicted of a cannabis-related offense themselves, or know a family member who was convicted as well. Finally, the applicant’s income must be less than the state average, which is $82,400.

The LCB has set up webinars for Jan. 24 and 28 in order to assist potential applicants through the licensing process.

While social equity has become a standard in the industry, especially in states that have only recently legalized adult-use cannabis, Washington State’s initial legalization did not include these provisions. 

“The 2012 ballot measure Initiative 502, which legalized recreational use of cannabis by adults, did not include provisions or create programs to acknowledge the disproportionate harms the enforcement of cannabis laws had on certain populations and communities,” the LCB stated. “The LCB recognizes that cannabis prohibition laws were disproportionately enforced for decades and that the cumulative harms from this enforcement remain today.”

In March 2020, Gov. Jay Inslee signed House Bill 2870 (which was introduced to the legislature by Rep. Eric Pettigrew), which took effect on June 12, 2020. This created a state social equity program, a Social Equity Task Force, “…and the opportunity to provide a limited number of cannabis retail licenses to individuals disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of cannabis prohibition laws.”

Currently, there is a new bill being proposed that aims to improve upon the original social equity bill. Senate Bill 5080’s first hearing was held on Jan. 10 with the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee, Washington CannaBusiness Association, and Craft Cannabis Coalition. Many who were present discussed their concerns with market oversaturation, asking that the number of social equity licenses be reduced.

In December 2022, a Headset report found that annual cannabis sales in Washington State were in decline by about $120 million in comparison to data from the previous year. “From March 2020 to March 2021, legacy cannabis markets saw drastic increases in growth,” wrote Headset about the decrease. “In the beginning months of the pandemic for example, Colorado’s total adult-use sales grew by 63% from February to July 2020.” However, the increase of sales during the pandemic prompted an unusual meteoric rise. “What you’re seeing as a ‘dip’ is really sales returning to normal growth as more people returned to in-person work,” said LCB spokesperson Brian Smith. He added that this downward trend isn’t isolated to just Washington state, but is being seen across the country in other legal states as well.

Washington State also made strides in 2022 to work on other outdated laws. In April 2022, Gov. Inslee signed House Bill 1210, which replaced all references of “marijuana” in state legislation with “cannabis.” According to bill sponsor Rep. Melanie Morgan, the connotations behind marijuana needed to be removed. “The term ‘marijuana’ itself is pejorative and racist,” Morgan said. “As recreational marijuana use became more popular, it was negatively associated with Mexican immigrants. Even though it seems simple because it’s just one word, the reality is, we’re healing the wrongs that were committed against Black and Brown people around cannabis.”

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