Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB)

Overview

Originally known as the state Liquor Control Board, WSLCB was established on January 23, 1934 by the Washington State Steel Act of 1934. It became the state cannabis regulator following voter passage of initiative 502 (I-502) in 2012, and it's name was subsequently changed in July 2015. Headquartered in Olympia, WA, the agecny has offices across Washington State performing regulatory and enforcement functions.

Leadership

WSLCB is made up of three board members appointed by the governor with approval of the state senate, with the agecny director acting as the lead for most operations. [1] The board also serves in a quasi-judical role as adjudicators in the appeals process for licensee violation. [2]

The board hosts public meetings most weeks. [21] As of March 2025, the board was led by Chair Jim Vollendroff who was appointed by Governor Bob Ferguson.

Enforcement

WSLCB has a dedicated law enforcement arm, along with non-enforcement compliance staff which work traceability and inspection functions. [3] Though WSLCB Enforcement Officer's juresidction is limited to businesses licensed by the agecny [4], they've also been called in to support local law enforcement actions involving cannabis. [5]

Licensing

Businesses wishing to participate in the cannabis market must obtain a license from the WSLCB [3]. The application process involves true-party of interest regulations, and facility compliance requirements outlined by the Board [4]. The WSLCB issues and recognizes several types of licenses, including:

License Type	Description
Cannabis Producer Tier 1	Produce, harvest, trim, dry, cure, and package cannabis into lots for sale at wholesale to cannabis processor licensees and to other cannabis producer licensees. Plant canopy less than 4,000 square feet [7]
Cannabis Producer Tier 2	Plant canopy 4,000 square feet up to 10,000 square feet [7]
Cannabis Producer Tier 3	Plant canopy up to 30,000 square feet [7]
Cannabis Processor	Process, dry, cure, package, and label usable cannabis, cannabis concentrates, and cannabis-infused products [9]
Cannabis Retailer	Sale of useable cannabis, cannabis concentrates,cannabis-infused products,cannabis paraphernalia [8]
Cannabis Transporter	Authorizes the transportation of cannabis material on behalf of licensees [10]
Cannabis Laboratories	Performs quality assurance testing on behalf of Producers, and Processors [11]
Cannabis Researcher	Performs research projects approved by a designated scientific reviewer [12]

As of March 2025, the only ways to obtain a cannabis producer//processor/retailer licensing through WSLCB was the social equity program. [13]

Traceability and Data

WSLCB has led significant changes in track-and-trace and required reporting, having first contracted with BioTrack before transitioning to MJ Freeway's LeafData System in 2017. In August 2021, WSLCB leaders confirmed that the agecny would move to its own internally-designed traceability platform--the Washington State Cannabis Central Reporting System (CCRS)-- for all business activity from medical, or adult-use licensees. [14] However, as of 2025, agecny leaders were seeking a new traceability vendor.

Aside from an annual report, WSLCB maintains various data sets available on their Frequently Requested Lists page which includes cannabis sales activity and revenue distributions to local governments [16]. The agency restarted two data dashboards pertaining to cannabis use and revenue on their site in 2025, as well as adding links to cannabis datasets from other state agencies. [19] The state auditor's office also published a performance review of the WSLCB and the cannabis sector in October 2024 [20].

Controversy

The board was found to have violated state laws and procedues following passage of I-502 by holding 17 non-public meetings with a quarum (at least two board members) and the state was forced to pay a six-figure settlement following litigation. [15]

Several licensees asserted an enforcement-focused culture pervaded agecny actions, including heavy penalties levied for first time, non-public safety violations. [16] In 2019, the agecny hired a private firm to perform an enforcement review [17], however lawmakers still approved changes aimed to reduce heavy-handed enforcment. [16]

Accussations of racial bias in prior agecny licensing approval led to the establishment of a social equity program in 2020, though retail licenses for equity didn't begin being approved until early 2024. [18]

Additional Resources

Wikipedia: Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_State_Liquor_and_Cannabis_Board WSLCB Homepage: https://lcb.wa.gov/ WSLCB Laws and Rules: https://lcb.wa.gov/laws/laws-and-rules Governor's Office Profile: https://dev-governor-ferguson.pantheonsite.io/boards-commissions/board-commission-profiles/Liquor%20and%20Cannabis%20Board