Washington § 69.50.550 - Cost-benefit evaluations.

(1) The Washington state institute for public policy shall conduct cost-benefit evaluations of the implementation of chapter 3, Laws of 2013. A preliminary report, and recommendations to appropriate committees of the legislature, shall be made by September 1, 2015, and the first final report with recommendations by September 1, 2017. Subsequent reports shall be due September 1, 2022, and September 1, 2032.

(2) The evaluation of the implementation of chapter 3, Laws of 2013 shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, consideration of the following factors:

(a) Public health, to include but not be limited to:

(i) Health costs associated with cannabis use;

(ii) Health costs associated with criminal prohibition of cannabis, including lack of product safety or quality control regulations and the relegation of cannabis to the same illegal market as potentially more dangerous substances; and

(iii) The impact of increased investment in the research, evaluation, education, prevention and intervention programs, practices, and campaigns identified in RCW 69.50.363 on rates of cannabis-related maladaptive substance use and diagnosis of cannabis-related substance use disorder, substance abuse, or substance dependence, as these terms are defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders;

(b) Public safety, to include but not be limited to:

(i) Public safety issues relating to cannabis use; and

(ii) Public safety issues relating to criminal prohibition of cannabis;

(c) Youth and adult rates of the following:

(i) Cannabis use;

(ii) Maladaptive use of cannabis; and

(iii) Diagnosis of cannabis-related substance use disorder, substance abuse, or substance dependence, including primary, secondary, and tertiary choices of substance;

(d) Economic impacts in the private and public sectors, including but not limited to:

(i) Jobs creation;

(ii) Workplace safety;

(iii) Revenues; and

(iv) Taxes generated for state and local budgets;

(e) Criminal justice impacts, to include but not be limited to:

(i) Use of public resources like law enforcement officers and equipment, prosecuting attorneys and public defenders, judges and court staff, the Washington state patrol crime lab and identification and criminal history section, jails and prisons, and misdemeanant and felon supervision officers to enforce state criminal laws regarding cannabis; and

(ii) Short and long-term consequences of involvement in the criminal justice system for persons accused of crimes relating to cannabis, their families, and their communities; and

(f) State and local agency administrative costs and revenues.

Intent—Finding—2022 c 16: See note following RCW 69.50.101.

Intent—2013 c 3 (Initiative Measure No. 502): See note following RCW 69.50.101.