RCW 314-55-096 - Trade samples, retail display samples, and internal quality control samples

(1) Trade samples: Trade samples are samples of useable cannabis, cannabis-infused products, and cannabis concentrates, as described in this section, provided for free for the purpose of negotiating a sale and providing education to budtenders engaged in selling cannabis products at retail.

(a) Trade samples may be provided by a producer to a processor, or by a processor to a retailer.

(b) Trade samples must be provided free of charge to the receiving licensee.

(c) Trade samples may only be provided to a licensee that has requested the trade sample or is consenting to receiving the trade sample.

(d) Trade samples may be used for:

(i) Negotiating a sale on product not currently carried by the cannabis licensee;

(ii) Educating budtenders on new products the cannabis retailer has not previously offered for sale to the public; and

(iii) Educating new budtenders on existing products the retailer sells.

(e) A trade sample unit must:

(i) Be representative of the product being offered for sale on the market;

(ii) Not be larger than the smallest unit offered for individual sale at retail;

(iii) Not exceed the following amounts per unit:

(A) 3.5 grams of cannabis;

(B) One gram of cannabis concentrate;

(C) 100 milligrams of cannabis-infused product in solid or liquid form meant to be ingested orally, applied topically, or otherwise taken into the body containing not more than 10 milligrams of active delta-9 THC per serving consistent with the limits provided in WAC 314-55-095.

(f) The limits on the amount of trade samples offered to cannabis licensees are based on calendar quarters.

(i) Producers may not provide any one licensed processor more than 96 trade sample units of cannabis flower per calendar quarter.

(ii) Processors may not provide any one licensed retail business more than 120 trade sample units of any combination of useable cannabis, cannabis concentrates, or cannabis-infused products per calendar quarter.

(g) The producer or processor must:

(i) Record the amount of each trade sample provided by product type and the trade name of the receiving licensee in the state's traceability system;

(ii) Clearly label each outgoing sample as a " trade sample" and itemize trade samples on a separate transport manifest from products intended for resale;

All trade samples must be packaged and labeled in accordance with the requirements in chapter 314-55 WAC, and include an additional label affixed to the package with the following statement in a style or type of lettering that is bold, clear, and conspicuous when compared with other type, lettering or graphics, and does not obscure other required labeling information: "TRADE SAMPLE - NOT FOR RESALE OR DONATION."

(iii) Locate and store all trade samples in a designated area on the licensed premises, separate from nonsample products being sold to another licensee;

(iv) Not provide trade samples as a condition for a retailer to purchase the producer or processor's products or in any manner that would cause undue influence over another licensee or industry member;

(v) Provide the licensee receiving trade samples of cannabis with the certificate of analysis for all quality assurance and quality control tests conducted on the lot or batch from which the sample was derived;

(vi) Disclose all chemicals applied to the growing medium and the plants during production and or processing as applicable including, but not limited to, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, rodenticides, nutrients, fertilizers, and pH control; and

(vii) Disclose all solvents and other chemicals, that were used during the processing of a cannabis concentrate or cannabis-infused product including, but not limited to, additives and ingredients.

(h) The receiving licensee must receive the trade sample in the traceability system prior to sampling.

(i) Trade samples may only be given to and used by licensees or current paid employees of the licensee as detailed in a licensee's written business policy.

Trade samples may not be sold, nor provided as employee compensation, incentive, or reward. Trade samples may only be given free of charge to paid employees of the licensed business.

(j) Cannabis retailers:

(i) Must not require a producer or processor to provide free trade samples as a condition for purchasing a licensee's products or in any manner that would cause undue influence over another licensee or industry member.

(ii) Must locate trade samples in a designated area on the licensed premises, separate from nonsample products for resale, and be clearly identified as trade samples. Sample jars, as described in subsection (4) of this section, may be displayed and located on the counter for customers to be able to smell the sample.

(iii) May provide free trade samples of useable cannabis, cannabis-infused products, and cannabis concentrates to current paid employees of the licensed retailer.

(iv) Must track all incoming and outgoing trade sample inventory in the state traceability system by product type.

(v) Must record the sample amount being provided to each employee in the traceability system including the product type and the name of the employee receiving the sample.

(vi) Must not provide more than 30 trade sample units to any one employee within a calendar quarter.

(2) Retailers may not provide free samples to customers.

(3) Internal quality control sampling: Producers and processors may conduct limited self-sampling for internal quality control. Internal quality control samples are not the same type of samples referred to in WAC 314-55-101, which are submitted to laboratories for testing purposes as described in WAC 314-55-102 and 314-55-109. All sample limits are based on calendar quarters. Consuming samples for internal quality control may not take place on the licensed premises. Internal quality control samples do not need to comply with packaging and labeling requirements in chapter 314-55 WAC. Only the producer, processor, or their paid employees may sample cannabis flower, useable cannabis, cannabis-infused products, cannabis concentrates, and edible cannabis-infused product. The producer or processor must record the amount of each sample and the employee(s) conducting the sampling in the state's traceability system.

(a) For purposes of this subsection, an internal quality control sample unit means:

(i) One gram of cannabis flower;

(ii) One gram of useable cannabis;

(iii) 10 mg of THC in a cannabis-infused product in edible or liquor form;

(iv) One gram of cannabis concentrate including, but not limited to, infused joints, vapor products, and dabs;

(b) Producers may provide up to 50 sample units of cannabis per employee, per calendar quarter, for internal quality control.

(c) Processors may provide up to 50 internal quality control sample units per employee, per calendar quarter, for internal quality control.

(i) Sample units may be provided to processor employees in any combination not to exceed a total of 50 units per calendar quarter.

(ii) Processors may not provide any one employee more than 25 sample units of cannabis concentrates per calendar quarter.

(iii) A one gram unit of cannabis concentrates may be a combination of any concentrate product.

(d) Licensees holding a producer and processor license at the same location are limited in providing a total of 50 internal quality control sample units combined per employee, per calendar quarter.

(4) Sample jars for retail display:

(a) All sample jars for retail display must be labeled with the following:

(i) Information identifying it as a sample jar for display purposes;

(ii) The UBI number of the licensed entity providing the sample; and

(iii) Weight of the product in ounces and grams or volume as applicable.

(b) A processor may provide a retailer free samples of useable cannabis packaged in a transparent sample jar protected by a plastic or metal mesh screen to allow customers to view and smell the product before purchase. The sample jar may not contain more than 3.5 grams of useable cannabis. The plastic or metal mesh screen must be sealed onto the container, and must be free of rips, tears, or holes greater than 2 mm in diameter.

(c) Neither the sample jar or the useable cannabis within may be sold, transferred, given away, or otherwise provided to a customer.

(d) Any useable cannabis no longer needed for display in sample jars may either be:

(i) Given to paid employees of the retailer free of charge. The sample amount must be recorded in the state's traceability system and will count towards the employees maximum sample limit described in (1)(j)(vi) of this section;

(ii) Disposed in accordance with the requirements in WAC 314-55-097 and recorded in the state's traceability system, consistent with WAC 314-55-083; or

(iii) Returned to the processor that provided the sample, to be disposed in accordance with WAC 314-55-097 and recorded in the state's traceability system, consistent with WAC 314-55-083.

(5) Transportation. Outgoing and return trade samples and sample jars must adhere to the transportation requirements in WAC 314-55-085.

(6) By September 1, 2025, all samples previously identified as vendor or educational samples must be disposed of according to the standards identified in WAC 314-55-097.

Notes

RCW 314-55-096

Adopted by WSR 16-11-110, Filed 5/18/2016, effective 6/18/2016 Amended by WSR 18-22-055, Filed 10/31/2018, effective 12/1/2018 Amended by WSR 22-14-111, Filed 7/6/2022, effective 8/6/2022 Amended by WSR 25-08-032, Filed 3/26/2025, effective 4/26/2025