This bill amends existing law (RCW 69.50.535) to set a dedicated cannabis excise tax and related procedures. It establishes excise tax rates of 37 percent of the selling price for cannabis concentrates with THC at or below 35 percent, useable cannabis at or below 35 percent, and cannabis-infused products, and 50 percent of the selling price for cannabis concentrates and useable cannabis with THC greater than 35 percent. The excise tax is separate from general state and local sales and use taxes, must be separately itemized on receipts, and must be reflected in store price lists and any advertised prices. The bill creates procedural and reporting rules: sellers collect the tax from buyers at sale, hold collected tax in trust, and are personally liable to the state if they fail to collect or remit it; all excise tax revenues must be deposited daily into a dedicated cannabis account. An exemption is provided, until June 30, 2029, for sales by retailers with a medical cannabis endorsement to qualifying patients or designated providers holding recognition cards when the product is identified and tested as compliant under chapter 246-70 WAC and WAC 246-70-040; sellers making exempt sales must maintain eligibility information as required and the board must provide a separate reporting line for exemption amounts. The bill also directs the board to regularly review the tax levels and, in consultation with the Department of Revenue, make recommendations to the legislature about adjustments intended to discourage use while undercutting illegal market prices. It includes definitions for “retail sale,” “selling price,” “product,” and “true value” by reference or specification and states the legislature does not authorize retailer price-fixing that would be per se antitrust violations. The text uses the terms “board” and “department” without identifying which specific entities those terms denote, and portions of the provided text appear to show deletions or formatting edits; those unclear or struck provisions cannot be fully resolved from the extracted facts alone.

If enacted, retail cannabis prices will effectively carry a large new excise tax that varies by THC level: lower-THC products taxed at 37% of the selling price and higher-THC products taxed at 50%. Retailers must separately itemize the tax on receipts, shelf prices, and price advertising, collect it at the point of sale, keep eligibility information for tax-exempt medical sales, and can be held personally liable if they fail to remit the tax. Sales by cannabis retailers with a medical endorsement to qualifying patients or designated providers are exempt from the tax through June 30, 2029, but only if the product meets specified compliance and testing standards; the board will provide a separate reporting line for those exempt amounts. All excise tax revenue must be deposited daily into a dedicated cannabis account, so the state will see more immediate and identifiable revenue flows for cannabis. The board must regularly review tax levels and, with the department of revenue, recommend adjustments aimed at discouraging use while making legal product prices competitive with the illegal market, which suggests future rate changes are likely. It is unclear from the provided text which specific state board and department are responsible, and parts of the bill appear redacted or struck through, leaving some reporting and implementation details uncertain.