Substitute Senate Bill 6204 amends multiple sections of chapter 69.50 RCW to authorize limited home cultivation and noncommercial transfers of cannabis by persons 21 years or older, and to change possession, enforcement, and forfeiture rules. The bill authorizes production and possession by persons 21+ of up to six cannabis plants on the premises of the housing unit they occupy, caps plants at 15 on any single housing-unit premises, allows specified noncommercial delivery between adults within quantity limits, and exempts lawful retail transport under specified RCWs. Producing or possessing more than six but fewer than 16 plants (unless authorized elsewhere) is made a class 1 civil infraction; producing or possessing 16 or more plants is a class C felony. The bill also creates civil infractions for odor or visibility nuisances from home cultivation, authorizes law enforcement to seize and summarily destroy plants in excess of six when not authorized, preserves owners’ rental/lease prohibitions, and prohibits home production in family day care or foster family homes and in circumstances inconsistent with a person’s criminal supervision. The bill modifies RCW 69.50.4013 to restate that unlawful possession or use of controlled substances (absent a valid prescription) is a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine, with exposure up to 364 days’ jail if the defendant has two or more qualifying prior convictions after July 1, 2023. Prosecutors are encouraged to divert eligible cases for assessment, treatment, or services, and law enforcement is encouraged to offer referrals in lieu of booking. RCW 69.50.401 is amended to restate felony classifications and penalties for manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent by schedule and drug type, including class B felony penalties (up to 10 years and specified fines) for Schedule I/II narcotics and special fine and deposit requirements for amphetamine/methamphetamine offenses. The bill requires compliance with existing rules for extraction/processing and exempts qualifying patients and designated providers acting under chapter 69.51A RCW. The act also amends forfeiture law (RCW 69.50.505) and related provisions to specify property subject to seizure, exceptions for certain lawful cannabis possession/production amounts, procedures and timelines for notice, claims, hearings, and removal to court, and a burden of proof on the seizing agency by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence. It specifies disposition of forfeited property, annual remittance of 10 percent of net proceeds to the behavioral health loan repayment and scholarship program account through June 30, 2027 and to the state general fund thereafter, landlord claim procedures, and claimant remedies including return of property and awards of attorneys’ fees to prevailing claimants. The bill adds definitions and a social equity plan concept, provides that local governments may adopt bans or moratoria on the home-production authorization within residentially zoned areas, grants immunity for good-faith actions by state and local officials, and sets that Section 4 expires June 30, 2027 and Section 5 takes effect June 30, 2027. Some provisions and cross-referenced text are incomplete in the extracted material (for example, a sentence in Sec. 2 is cut off and not all amendments, new sections, or the identity of certain referenced entities are fully shown), so the summary is limited to the extracted facts.

If enacted, adults 21 and older would be allowed to possess specified amounts of cannabis and to grow up to six plants in the housing unit they occupy (with a 15-plant cap for an entire housing unit), and they could give limited amounts of cannabis to other adults noncommercially within 24 hours. Law enforcement and prosecutors are pushed toward diversion and referrals for people caught with controlled substances, but officers can still seize and summarily destroy plants over six and pursue civil infractions for odors/visibility or for growing more than six but fewer than 16 plants; producing or possessing 16 or more plants remains a class C felony. Landlords can still ban cultivation by renters, qualifying medical patients and designated providers remain exempt under their rules, and cities and counties may impose local bans or moratoria on home cultivation in residential zones. The groups most affected are adults who use or grow cannabis (their legal options increase but they face new civil fines or felony risk if they exceed limits), law enforcement and prosecutors (who will be encouraged to use diversion programs but retain seizure and forfeiture powers and must meet a heightened burden of proof in forfeiture cases), and property owners and local governments (who can restrict home cultivation locally or by contract). Seizing agencies must remit 10 percent of net forfeiture proceeds annually to a behavioral health program through June 30, 2027 and to the state general fund thereafter. Some parts of the bill text provided here are incomplete (a mid‑sentence provision in Sec. 2 and several amendment details and effective/expiration mechanics), so a few implementation specifics remain uncertain.