Overview of Rulemaking

The purpose of this rule is to ensure that laboratory standards described in chapter 16-309 WAC are followed when testing cannabis and cannabis products in Washington State.

Under the 2019 House Bill 2052, the Department of Ecology was to take over the accreditation of cannabis laboratories, and began creating a fee-based program to audit and accredit the laboratories. In the process of writing the cannabis laboratory standards in chapter 16-309 WAC, the Department identified an opportunity to save costs to laboratories and streamline the hiring and work process related to laboratory standards and accreditation by taking on the task of laboratory audits and accreditation. The Department wrote an agency request bill replacing the Department of Ecology with the Department of Agriculture as the accrediting agency and requesting continuous funding and expedited rulemaking authority to do this work. The bill, Second Substitute House Bill (SSHB) 2151, passed in 2024 and was signed by the governor. The bill authorized the creation of a new rule chapter to implement auditing and accrediting laboratories by the Department’s Cannabis Lab Accreditation Standards Program. The bill also changes some components of the audit program, as audit fees will remain at a similar level to their current state. Laboratories will no longer be accredited by a third-party consultant and will instead be audited and accredited by a team at WSDA.

The Department has a statutory obligation to write rules that establish a cannabis laboratory accreditation program by July 1, 2024, and an obligation to audit and accredit the labs under the authority of RCW 69.50.348.