In November of 2012 the voters of the State of Washington approved initiative 502 to legalize growing and selling cannabis for recreational use. The Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) was given the job of managing the expected onslaught of applications. WSLCB had to have a system for accepting and managing applications that could be implemented quickly with minimal risk.

The primary goals were to implement a licensing process that was efficient, seamlessly integrated, and easy to use. To accomplish this we worked with department managers, the licensing team, and the IT staff to design a process that would meet the legislative mandate, leveraged existing systems, and be adopted quickly by staff and applicants.

We needed to hide as much of the complexity as possible. To do this, we prebuilt all the application and licensing forms in DocuSign as PowerFrom Templates. A very simple AIRLIFT form was designed and integrated with the existing workflow software to provide a seamless link between sending the required forms to an applicant and then automatically storing completed forms in their document and records management system for long-term retention and disposition. The automated process has saved the agency millions of dollars by reducing or eliminating paper handling in the mailroom, printing, scanning, and indexing.