This bill amends RCW 69.50.325 and RCW 24.34.010 to authorize and regulate three distinct cannabis license types: producer, processor, and retailer. It creates the cannabis producer license (allowing production of cannabis for wholesale to processors and other producers, and production of immature plants/clones and seeds for sale to specified cooperatives and qualifying patients/designated providers), clarifies processor and retailer authorities, and states that production, possession, delivery, distribution, and sale of cannabis by validly licensed producers, processors, or retailers in accordance with the chapter and rules is not a criminal or civil offense under Washington law. The bill imposes new regulatory limits and procedures: retail licensees and all persons/entities with a financial or ownership interest are capped at an aggregate maximum of five retail cannabis licenses; associations or cooperatives of licensed producers may represent no more than three producer licenses at a time and must meet specified cooperative governance limits in RCW 24.34.010. It defines “financial interest” for retail ownership limits to include profit sharing, coordinated pricing or purchasing, shared branding or operational control, coordinated marketing, and coordinated hiring, among other items. Procedural and fee changes are included: the Liquor and Cannabis Board must adopt forfeiture rules for retail licenses that are not fully operational, with specified timing rules (no forfeiture within nine months of issuance; the board must require forfeiture on or before 24 months after issuance unless circumstances beyond the licensee’s control justify extension; these forfeiture rules apply to licenses issued before and after July 23, 2017, with a nine‑month protection tied to July 23, 2017). The bill establishes a $250 application fee and a $1,381 annual issuance/renewal fee for each license and requires a separate license for each physical location. For purposes of RCW 24.34.010 only, and only for licensed cannabis producers, cannabis is treated as an agricultural product. The text references other statutory sections (RCW 69.51A.250 and RCW 69.51A.310) and delegates detailed forfeiture rule content to the board; those referenced sections and the board’s forthcoming rules are not included here, and no effective date or fuller rule details are provided in the extracted material.

If enacted, the law would create a distinct cannabis producer license that lets growers sell wholesale cannabis to processors and other producers and sell immature plants or seeds to producer cooperatives and qualifying medical patients; it also clarifies processor and retail roles and says properly licensed production, processing, and retailing are not criminal acts. This will directly affect licensed growers, processors, retailers, producer associations/cooperatives, qualifying patients, and the Liquor and Cannabis Board by changing who can sell what and allowing producers to organize as cooperatives while limiting how many producer licenses a single cooperative can represent. Practical costs and operational effects include a $250 application fee and a $1,381 annual fee for each license and a requirement that each physical location hold its own license. Retail owners face an aggregate cap of five retail licenses and limits on agreements that would extend control beyond that cap. The board must adopt rules to forfeit retail licenses that are not open to the public within a window that starts with a nine‑month safe period and can require forfeiture by 24 months unless delays are beyond the licensee’s control; the board may not forfeit a license if local bans or zoning prevent opening. Key implementation details — the board’s specific forfeiture rules, the exact terms for sales to cooperatives and patients, and any effective date — are not included here, so some operational impacts remain uncertain.