University of Washington hosts first marijuana policy conference

It’s one of the first of its kind: a Washington marijuana policy conference Tuesday at the University of Washington Law School.

Sam Mendez, executive director of the Cannabis Law and Policy Project (CLPP), which is organizing the event, says despite Washington legalizing recreational marijuana in 2014, there are plenty of legal questions left to answer.

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“Such as what to do about pesticides now, what about access to youth,” Mendez said. “And a number of other issues that, now that we have at least a state legal system, how do we approach that from a policy perspective to make sure that system works?”

The CLPP has been working hand-in-hand with the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board to figure out how to do just that, and engaging in some of the first major research of the pot industry.

For example, when the state launched legal pot, it was only for the recreational market, forcing medical dispensaries to shut down.

Over time, the state developed guidelines for the new market, including aspects like how much growing space to allow. That was work done in partnership with Mendez and his colleagues, who interviewed producers and gathered data on an industry that had never before been quantified.

“We concluded that between about 1.7 to 2 million square feet would satisfy the current medical marijuana market,” Mendez said. “At the time, the LCB had licensed 10 million square feet of canopy for the state. It’s now up to about 12 million square feet. So we concluded that the current allotment was enough to satisfy demand for both the recreational market and the medical market in Washington state.”

Now, the state has released guidelines and 80 percent of licensed recreational stores are licensed to sell medical marijuana as well.

But there are plenty of other glitches within Washington’s fledgling marijuana market.

“There’re issues around taxes and banking,” Mendez notes. “It’s difficult right now to deal with the IRS because there’s what’s known as the 280 E provision, which makes it difficult — if not impossible — for businesses to deduct expenses.”

These are marijuana businesses, and because cannabis is still federally classified as a Schedule I substance, it makes it illegal by federal standards.

“And there’s also issues around banking, or lack thereof,” Mendez said. “A lot of banks are federally chartered, so a lot of larger banks simply won’t take on cannabis clients.”

It’s a reminder that, although marijuana is quickly being normalized in the northwest, it is still illegal and only a permitted by authorities simply looking the other way.

Some credit unions have started accepting marijuana businesses, but most pot shops turn to cash, which can be a pain for customers — and an easy target for thieves.

Mendez says marijuana itself has been around for decades, but the legal industry is brand new — as is emerging research into its medical and recreational effects. He hopes that the University’s efforts, along with more studies nationwide will help iron out the bumps as pot goes from black market to mainstream around the country.

“We hope to have the leadership in government, as well everybody who attends the conference, to walk away with some more ideas and information around what’s going on here in Washington, what’s working, what isn’t working, and what solutions we seek in order to address those issues,” Mendez said.