To: Licensed Cannabis Retailers
Fr: Liquor and Cannabis Board
Re: Limited Allowance for Cannabis Retailers to Provide One Joint at No Cost to Customers who Receive a COVID-19 Vaccine at In-Store Clinic
Advisement:
The Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) received multiple requests from “marijuana” (herein referred to as cannabis) retail licensees to engage in a promotion, in a mutual effort with the State of Washington, to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations. Effective immediately, the LCB is providing a limited allowance for retail cannabis licensed businesses to offer COVID-19 vaccination clinics at the retail store, and offer one joint at no cost to customers who receive a COVID-19 vaccination at the promotional clinic. The allowance is optional for licensees, and will expire on July 12, 2021.
Allowance Conditions
The optional allowance is effective from Monday June 07 – July 12, 2021. The following conditions apply:
- Participating cannabis retailers may only provide a pre-roll joint, and no other product may be provided as part of this allowance.
- Any cannabis joint provided to a customer must be associated with an active vaccine clinic event at the retail location.
- Only one complimentary joint may be provided to a customer who receives a first or second COVID-19 vaccine dose at the event.
- Receipt of the complimentary joint must occur during the same visit as receiving the vaccination, and may not be delayed, postponed, or otherwise acquired at a later date or time.
- Retailers may only provide the complementary joint to persons 21 years of age and older.
- Any vaccine clinic held inside a licensed retail location must comply with all age restriction requirements for the cannabis retailer.
- The cannabis joint must be provided by a retailer, and not a producer or processor.
- The retailer must purchase the product at wholesale from a licensed producer or processor.
- The retailer may provide the cannabis joint without having to conduct a retail sale of the product. As no sale occurs, the provided product will not be subject to sales and excise tax for the retail licensee.
- Licensees are required to maintain records of all product provided as part of this allowance.
- Advertising of vaccine clinics and one complementary joint for those receiving a first or second COVID-19 vaccine will be allowable during the afforded time period, so long as licensees maintain compliance with all other advertising regulations.
- This allowance does not supersede any state or local health rules and regulations, and licensees must ensure compliance with local heath jurisdiction rules and regulations associated with such clinics.
Any updates to this allowance will be available on the COVID-19 pages of the LCB website. If you have questions, please contact your enforcement and education officer. Thank you.
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