Our entry about Washington State in the January Cannabis Newsletter was inaccurate. The legislature has introduced two bills, HB 2263 and SB 6085, which would expand access to investment in the cannabis market. Together the bills lower residency requirements for investors in cannabis businesses, while also imposing a 1% investment fee on yearly investments of more than $500,000, or more than $200,000 if the fee is less than $2 million. Those fees will be used to create a “Marijuana Equity Loan Program,” to be disbursed to minority and women business owners, in order to increase equity in the market. Because the bill lowers residency requirements for investors, some groups have expressed their concerns about the flow of out of state money into the market. Click here for more info.
