Liquor Control Board statement following passage of Initiative 502

OLYMPIA –Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) issued the following statement regarding the apparent passage of Initiative 502.

The Washington State Liquor Control Board will move forward to carry out the will of the voters who Tuesday passed Initiative 502.

I-502 establishes precedent for growing, processing, retailing and possessing marijuana. Essentially, a system will be built from the ground up. The initiative provides the WSLCB until December 1, 2013 to craft rules for implementation. We expect that it will take the full year to craft the necessary rules which will provide the framework for the new system. As we develop the rules we will keep in mind our top priority, public safety.

Questions remain ahead as we work to implement I-502. Chief among them is the issue that marijuana remains illegal at the federal level.

We will reach out to the federal Department of Justice in the coming weeks for clarification. We will also communicate with our state partners such as the Washington State Patrol, the Department of Health, the Department of Agriculture, and others affected by I-502.

Note to Editors: This statement and a fact sheet about how I-502 affects the WSLCB are posted on the agency website at lcb.wa.gov. The website will be a central source of information over the course of the coming year.

###