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The RFP and IT Logistics For Washington's "Pot Czar"

Posted by Soulskill on from the not-the-best-resume-builder dept.

Esther Schindler writes "Last fall, the state of Washington passed a marijuana legalization referendum, and needed to acquire an outside consultant to run the program. 'As it normally does, the state put out a request for proposal for a consultant to run the new legal marijuana program,' writes Ron Miller. 'As word leaked out that there was an RFP open for what essentially was a "pot czar," the floodgates opened. It would be the most popular RFP in the state's history. The Liquor Control Board needed a way to process these requests quickly and cheaply.' In a typical RFP scenario, they would get maybe half a dozen responses. This one got close to 100. Miller writes about the cloud workflow required to solve the task: 'He chose these particular tools because they all had open APIs, which allowed him to mash them together easily into the solution. They were easy to use, so reviewers could learn the system with little or no training, and they were mobile, so users could access the system from any device. In particular he wanted reviewers to be able to use the system on a tablet.' I suppose this could have been written about more mundane RFPs, but I bet you'll find this more interesting than most."

82 of 117 comments (clear)

  1. Probably not just about pot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I imagine this was so popular because of the chance to run a pot legalization program as a consultant. This would be a multi-year job, but Washington State will likely not be the last state to implement this. The consultancy who wins this bid can then bid to help other states in the future, with the only credible claim of reliable experience with this issue. Being the winner of this project would be akin to striking oil.

    1. Re:Probably not just about pot by swb · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I can't help but think that the pot business now is something like the Internet was circa about 1991. There was a sense it was going to be a big deal and there was going to be a lot of money made, but nobody quite knew how to do it right away.

      And like the Internet, I'll be looking back 20 years from now amazed at how much money has been made off it and how it's universally accepted, just like the Internet.

    2. Re:Probably not just about pot by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 2

      "There was a sense it was going to be a big deal and there was going to be a lot of money made, but nobody quite knew how to do it right away."

      I think it's pretty obvious that a lot of people still don't know how to do it.

    3. Re:Probably not just about pot by pspahn · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Indeed. A friend of mine interviewed with a local dispensary (Colorado) a couple of weeks ago, she would be doing the books.

      Granted, this is a medial dispensary, and not the type of "pot shop" that would come as the result of legalization, but I imagine the two won't be far off...

      So, as I was saying, she interviewed and, since she's smart, she was asking specific questions about how they operate. Apparently, part of her job would involved making cash deposits to the bank via an ATM at the mall. Yes. That's how they are doing it right now... cash deposits to an ATM at the mall.

      The ATM in this case belongs to Bank of America, and they are chosen for the account precisely because they do not have a presence in Colorado (other than ATMs). I'm not really sure the rest of the details, but it is clear that there are plenty of methods, especially in regards to how dispensaries run their finances, that need to be refined.

      --
      Someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool.
    4. Re:Probably not just about pot by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      "Indeed. A friend of mine interviewed with a local dispensary (Colorado) a couple of weeks ago, she would be doing the books."

      Haha. I meant the internet, but I didn't make that very clear. But this, too, for sure. I won't argue with you there.

    5. Re:Probably not just about pot by swb · · Score: 3, Informative

      There was a story about this exact kind of thing on NPR's Planet Money:

      http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/12/04/166514067/episode-420-the-legal-marijuana-business

      They talk to legitimate business people trying to run a dispensary and handling money is a huge problem for them. It's almost nearly impossible to get a commercial bank account and really complicated to try to run it on a cash basis. The banks are paranoid because its illegal at a Federal level and there's all kinds of ways for the Feds make pain -- money laundering laws, revoking Federal bank charters, seizing assets, and so forth. Suppliers, landlords, employees, the government, customers -- everybody wants to get paid and cash is really clumsy and sometimes not an option.

      And of course, they want to be consumer friendly and take plastic, but good luck without banking. I may be remembering this wrong, but they use the gimmick of the low-rent cash machine which will also do purchases-as-cash-advance-for-a-fee so credit card users can "buy" without a cash advance from the credit card company's perspective.

      At the end of the day, a pot dispensary should be no different than any other specialty retailer -- doing payroll mostly electronically with printed checks for those who want them, a line of credit at the bank, and various accounts to park cash in or fund check writing, and taking all the usual plastic money from customers.

    6. Re:Probably not just about pot by cffrost · · Score: 1

      The banks are paranoid because its illegal at a Federal level and there's all kinds of ways for the Feds make pain -- money laundering laws, revoking Federal bank charters, seizing assets, and so forth.

      HSBC's not paranoid.

      --
      Thank you, Edward Snowden.

      "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
    7. Re:Probably not just about pot by Cryacin · · Score: 1

      HSBC's not paranoid.

      That doesn't mean the fed's aren't following them.

      --
      Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
    8. Re:Probably not just about pot by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      Then they should use Credit Unions. Those are local businesses, not banks, and most Federal bank rules do not apply.

    9. Re:Probably not just about pot by symbolset · · Score: 2

      I must be a fairly unusual individual because I don't care for pot. Yes, I've tried it many times over 30 years, but apparently it doesn't work for me like it works for other people because I don't find the experience at all pleasurable. Maybe I'm disabled in some way. I don't have a problem with other people liking it or using it and I never did. I think it should be legal. It's just not for me.

      That said, of all the people I know well enough to know if they use pot (or something equally illegal), almost all of them do. It's always been that way. Now that I live in a state where it's legal random acquaintances and even strangers are trying to push the stuff on me like I've never seen it before and just need to be convinced to join their club. Look at me. I have grey hair. I am obviously from the '60s. Are you stupid?

      Yeah, I get it. It's legal now. Party time. Woohoo! Knock yourself out. You got a beer?

      --
      Help stamp out iliturcy.
    10. Re:Probably not just about pot by TheRaven64 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Portugal did it, and they have the single largest body of people in rehab of any country on Earth now

      You say that as if it's a bad thing. Portugal shifted from regarding drug addiction as a crime to regarding it as a medical condition, and now they have the largest number of people with this condition receiving treatment. And you think this is bad? Meanwhile, the USA has the largest number of people of any country in the world (more than the USSR at its height) in prisons. The majority of these are for drug-related offences. How's that working out as an alternative?

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    11. Re:Probably not just about pot by philip.paradis · · Score: 1

      Credit unions in the United States, at least those which back deposits with a federal faith and credit guarantee, fall under the purview of the NCUA. Management of the board is a matter of federal appointment, and be assured that federal law can and will be applied at the whim of the Senate and executive administration. All this said, I "bank" with NFCU, and generally find my history with them to be much more pleasant than prior experience with banks.

      --
      Write failed: Broken pipe
    12. Re:Probably not just about pot by smooth+wombat · · Score: 1

      So you're saying it's a good thing that so many people are strung out on drugs and unable to be productive that the taxpayers have to pick up the tab to try and break their habit so they can be productive again.

      And this is different from taxpayers paying to put criminals behind bars, how?

      --
      We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    13. Re:Probably not just about pot by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      So you're saying it's a good thing that so many people are strung out on drugs and unable to be productive that the taxpayers have to pick up the tab to try and break their habit so they can be productive again.

      I'm saying that it's a good thing that people whoa re strung out on drugs have the opportunity to get help and become productive members of society.

      And this is different from taxpayers paying to put criminals behind bars, how?

      Seriously?

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    14. Re:Probably not just about pot by Hatta · · Score: 1

      Portugal did it, and they have the single largest body of people in rehab of any country on Earth now.

      Better than having the single largest body of people in prison of any country on Earth.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    15. Re:Probably not just about pot by Hatta · · Score: 1

      nobody quite knew how to do it right away.

      What's to know how to do? We know how to grow corn and sell it. Just do the same with Cannabis. There's no reason it has to be more complicated than that.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    16. Re:Probably not just about pot by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      I can't help but think that the pot business now is something like the Internet was circa about 1991. There was a sense it was going to be a big deal and there was going to be a lot of money made, but nobody quite knew how to do it right away.

      And like the Internet, I'll be looking back 20 years from now amazed at how much money has been made off it and how it's universally accepted, just like the Internet.

      The way to make lots of money off drugs is for them to stay illegal and to be a drug producer/distributor.

      Once pot is legal, it's just another crop, and by all accounts it's quite easy to grow so I don't see anyone growing rich from it.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    17. Re:Probably not just about pot by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      I did not claim they weren't under Federal control. But my point was that it is a different level of control. They aren't BANKS.

    18. Re:Probably not just about pot by tehcyder · · Score: 1
      Paying people by check is in the employer's interest, not the employee, since the former get to keep the money in their bank for a couple of extra days. Why anyone would choose to be paid by check is baffling to those of us outside the US.

      I can understand cash if you are a rugged individualist who absolutely refuses to deal with banks because they're part of the ZOG conspiracy (or something), but that is not even an option with most companies nowadays where I live.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    19. Re:Probably not just about pot by tehcyder · · Score: 1
      The first rule when discussing drugs on slashdot: you do not criticise drugs or drug users.

      The second rule when discussing drugs on slashdot: YOU DO NOT CRITICISE DRUGS OR DRUG USERS.

      There is no third rule.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    20. Re:Probably not just about pot by philip.paradis · · Score: 1

      You're missing the point. For purposes of the scenario being described here, by proximity of appointments and reporting, federal credit unions are under closer executive branch control than banks are. I assure you, bank-related problems experienced by folks engaging in business pursuits deemed unlawful by the federal government are mirrored or possibly lessened in comparison to those experienced by credit union customers engaging in similar behavior. Don't believe me? Send a letter to the board of your credit union discussing intent to set up a marijuana dispensary and see what their response looks like.

      --
      Write failed: Broken pipe
    21. Re:Probably not just about pot by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      No, I'm not missing the point.

      The board of the local credit union is not the Federal government.

    22. Re:Probably not just about pot by philip.paradis · · Score: 1

      For now, you're apparently unable to admit you're simply wrong on this, and have declined to provide a substantive response to my last post. I assume you're writing that letter to the board; please let me know when you receive their reply.

      --
      Write failed: Broken pipe
    23. Re:Probably not just about pot by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      "For now, you're apparently unable to admit you're simply wrong on this, and have declined to provide a substantive response to my last post. I assume you're writing that letter to the board; please let me know when you receive their reply."

      Sorry, but a "substantive response" requires more than just your say-so. Of course, I haven't presented any evidence on my side of the argument either.

      So if you really want to call this anything more than a pissing contest, be my guest. But all that would get you is a bigger puddle.

    24. Re:Probably not just about pot by philip.paradis · · Score: 1

      No reasonable person would consider your last response substantive. Sincere we appear to be at an impasse, I'll go ahead and write the letter to a handful of credit unions on our behalf. Do you have a preference for recipients?

      --
      Write failed: Broken pipe
    25. Re:Probably not just about pot by philip.paradis · · Score: 1

      Please apply s/Sincere/Since/ to my last response, although I do mean it sincerely.

      --
      Write failed: Broken pipe
  2. That was harder than it should have been... by Daetrin · · Score: 2

    They actually used "request for proposal" in the blurb before they started throwing "RFP" all over the place, but because of the lack of capitalization it still took me a minute or two to figure out =P

    --
    This Space Intentionally Left Blank
    1. Re:That was harder than it should have been... by Daetrin · · Score: 1

      Funny, i work for a government contractor and i had no idea what it means. Of course i'm just a programmer, people in other departments actually talk to the government agencies and deal with the bidding.

      --
      This Space Intentionally Left Blank
    2. Re:That was harder than it should have been... by MightyMartian · · Score: 2

      I'm a Canadian and the acronym RFP is used here as well. Judging by a quick search it's also uses in the UK (ie. http://www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities/funding_calls/2012/07/goldoa.aspx ).

        What we can thus gather from this is that you're an ignorant fucking retard.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    3. Re:That was harder than it should have been... by gagol · · Score: 1

      "request for proposal (RFQ)" is that so hard to stick with editorial standards? This kind of flimsy editor job is what makes Slashdot merely a poor agregator with interresting comments.

      --
      Tomorrow is another day...
    4. Re:That was harder than it should have been... by TapeCutter · · Score: 1

      Aussie here, if you don't know what RFP means then there is a very good chance you have no significant experience dealing with corporate/government clients. If you think that is an insult that warrants a verbal assult then you will probably never gain said experience.

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    5. Re:That was harder than it should have been... by real-modo · · Score: 1

      RFQ? Uh, that's "request for quotation".

      Also, ROI is "registration of interest", RFT is "request for tender"--but that's usually just expressed as "putting out a tender".

    6. Re:That was harder than it should have been... by gagol · · Score: 1

      [sound of me dropping the ball] :-P

      --
      Tomorrow is another day...
    7. Re:That was harder than it should have been... by maroberts · · Score: 1

      Funny, i work for a government contractor and i had no idea what it means. Of course i'm just a programmer, people in other departments actually talk to the government agencies and deal with the bidding.

      As a programmer, you should be familiar with Request For Comments (RFCs). It doesn't take a rocket scientist to replace the "C" with a "P" and do some logical thinking. Hell even a programmer could do it.... :-)

      --

      Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
      Karma: Chameleon

    8. Re:That was harder than it should have been... by Daetrin · · Score: 1

      Yeah, i figured it was "Request For" something right away, but my brain had just skimmed over the lower case "request for proposal" a line or two before they started using "RFP". I spent a bit trying to figure out what the "P" would be on my own before thinking to go back and reread the first part slowly and more carefully.

      --
      This Space Intentionally Left Blank
    9. Re:That was harder than it should have been... by Daetrin · · Score: 1

      It's right in the summary.

      Which i said right in my first post. Apparently we both have trouble catching things on the first read, i just took the time to correct my mistake before posting about it. Otherwise i would have complained about it not being in the summary and looked like a real fool when someone pointed it out to me.

      --
      This Space Intentionally Left Blank
    10. Re:That was harder than it should have been... by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      I've worked all over EMEA and APJ and RFP is common terminology in IT bids

      And what, pray, are EMEA and APJ when they're at home?

      Yes, Google tells me they're "Europe Middle East Africa" and "Asia Pacific Japan" respectively, but I've never seen them used before, and find the first one in particular almost spectacularly meaningless.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    11. Re:That was harder than it should have been... by GodGell · · Score: 1

      I'm a Canadian and the acronym RFP is used here as well. Judging by a quick search it's also uses in the UK (ie. http://www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities/funding_calls/2012/07/goldoa.aspx ).

      And that proves what?
      You pointed to the term being used in a further two countries, as if that somehow negates the GP's point that you should not expect everyone on an international network to be familiar with your particular culture's abbreviations and other shorthands.

      He might have ended his post with pointless flaming, but then you went and turned yourself into the exact stereotype he was accusing you of representing: You thought the world consists only of you and others like you.

      What we can thus gather from this is that you're an ignorant fucking retard.

      Oh, the irony.

      --
      [SHOW SOME LENIENCY TOWARDS ... I mean, FUCK BETA] Eat. Survive. Reproduce. GOTO 10
  3. Huh? This was a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Receiving less than a hundred proposals was a problem? Reading simple documents on a tablet and submitting responses was a problem? I fail to see how this required anything more than email and a simple spreadsheet, database, or website.

    1. Re:Huh? This was a problem? by cosm · · Score: 1

      Mod parent +1 End of Conversation No Need For More Comments.

      --
      'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
    2. Re:Huh? This was a problem? by The+Rizz · · Score: 1, Funny

      Reading simple documents on a tablet and submitting responses was a problem?

      When you're high? Yes.

    3. Re:Huh? This was a problem? by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      Feynman said that?

    4. Re:Huh? This was a problem? by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, this is nuts.

      I could see needing software to sort out 100 RFP responses for a fighter jet (where each response is 100,000 pages including gigabytes of engineering data/diagrams).

      This is basically like getting 100 CVs for a job posting. You don't even need a secretary to handle that unless you post something like this every week.

  4. 100?? by 2.7182 · · Score: 2

    So big deal, 100... It is not uncommon for a science dept at a university to get 400 applications for a tenure track position.

    1. Re:100?? by AlphaWolf_HK · · Score: 1

      Just find somebody who says "dude" every time he starts a sentence, and bro at the end. Make sure he dues it consistently or he might be a faker. Bam, there's your pot czar.

      --
      Careful with names containing L slashdot.org/~AiphaWolf_HK slashdot.org/~AlphaWoif_HK slashdot.org/~AiphaWoif_HK
    2. Re:100?? by Nyder · · Score: 4, Funny

      Dude, 100 applicants? Fucking out of this world. Hell ya, dude, dude!!!!! I got the greatest fucking idea of all time. Quit camping on the bowl, give me a hit. Thanks dude.... What were we talking about? No, I hadn't seen the that cat video, no, dude, wait, the Pot Czar applications. You get them all in a room, and smoke out. Fuck ya, dude, I'm talking smoke out of the century. The last app standing gets the job. Fuck I'm a genius. WTF dude? don't spill the bong...

      --
      Be seeing you...
    3. Re:100?? by jspoon · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So big deal, 100... It is not uncommon for a science dept at a university to get 400 applications for a tenure track position.

      Or even as many as 420.

    4. Re:100?? by niftydude · · Score: 1

      Heh - recently in the UK - 1701 people applied for 8 barista jobs.

      --
      You can never know everything, and part of what you do know will always be wrong. Perhaps even the most important part.
  5. Alternate headline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Search for Pot Czar Requires Cloud Workflow

    1. Re:Alternate headline by Ukab+the+Great · · Score: 1

      Joint pot czar cloud workflow leaves $7800 up in smoke.

  6. $7800 by hawguy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Did they really need to create a $7800 (not including license fees) RFP review system when there were only 100 applicants? And now the company that was paid to create it is selling it to other agencies.

    1. Re:$7800 by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "Did they really need to create a $7800 (not including license fees) RFP review system when there were only 100 applicants? And now the company that was paid to create it is selling it to other agencies."

      My thought too. Looks like Washington is not immune from the typical State bureaucracy syndrome. My guess would be that at least 80% of the responses would weed themselves out in the first couple of paragraphs, which might take maybe a day to go through.

      The rest might need more thorough vetting, but hell, that's only 20.

    2. Re:$7800 by turp182 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Can it be used for all future RFP requests? Do the users like it better (more convenient, easier)?

      For $7,800, that would be incredible ($10,000 limit I understand, not much for such a project in my opinion). Think about what corporations spend on small IT projects (internally or externally developed).

      I'm assuming the developer was familiar with all of the tools and already had ample experience piecing them together. The time frame makes it so.

      --
      BlameBillCosby.com
    3. Re:$7800 by cffrost · · Score: 2

      [...] 80% of the responses would weed themselves out [...]

      Heh... Nicely done. :o)

      --
      Thank you, Edward Snowden.

      "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
    4. Re:$7800 by olsonish · · Score: 1

      I'm thinking $7800 may have been a lot cheaper than what the pension and hefty administrative salary would have cost for the new extra government employee that would have been hired instead. Even if it were a low wage admin position it would have costs well over double and state bureaucracy syndrome would have been on display many times over by comparison. Just's a different point of view, I could be totally off from reality and not realize it, but I think what they got for $7800 and in the time frame that it was executed, that was a pretty good deal.

    5. Re:$7800 by blackraven14250 · · Score: 1

      I'd say it probably is too. Even if they didn't need to hire someone else, the amount of time saved by having an efficient system developed instead of going through them by hand can be staggering.

  7. RFP Request For Pot by fustakrakich · · Score: 2

    Where can I score?

    4 & 7

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    1. Re:RFP Request For Pot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      See RFC (Request for Cannabis) 420 and RFC 1149.

  8. *sigh* Another czar by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    Where are these guys when you need them?

    Thank goodness for spammers. I can threadjack without feeling guilty.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    1. Re:*sigh* Another czar by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      Haha. Sadly, the bureaucracy outlasted them.

      As of a few years ago, a few of them were still producing comedy recordings. But they are not as easy to find as they once were.

  9. so, they used the 'cloud' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    so the feds can come in and obtain the data without a warrant, then arrest anyone that might use or have used pot.. before or after the state law changed... because it's still a violation of *federal* law regardless.

  10. potczar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    There's a tag now, forever in slashdot. For potczar.

  11. Clloud is irrelevant here by manu0601 · · Score: 1

    Cloud usage is irrelevant here. The thing could have been done quickly in-house with any CMS, provided knowledgeable people are available.

    What would have been interesting is the HR side of the story: how did they choose among 100 applicant for an unusual position?

  12. Lazy by Khyber · · Score: 2

    You're telling me these people couldn't be bothered to personally read all 100 or so applications?

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    1. Re:Lazy by foniksonik · · Score: 3, Insightful

      An RFP for a complicated consulting job can be 50 pages long or more with additional addendums and appendixes.

      I wrote an RFP for a project with a medical device company and it was 30+ pages.

      These are dense pages also. We're basically talking about a draft project plan or business plan. Milestones, deliverables, ROI calculations, tables of data, lists of requirements, software, hardware, etc

      100 applications would be at minimum 1000 pages of details.

      --
      A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
    2. Re:Lazy by Khyber · · Score: 1

      Good, and they need HUMANS to read, discuss, and talk points/advantages/disadvantages.

      I wrote the RFP for my former UK investors for a fairly large research facility for massive-scale crop production. 75 pages, NOT including the added pages for certification and regulation in other countries.

      Letting a computer do it seems pretty damned lazy, considering the utter scale of such a project. Humans should be HEAVILY involved in every step of the way.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    3. Re:Lazy by Kjella · · Score: 1

      An RFP for a complicated consulting job can be 50 pages long or more with additional addendums and appendixes.

      That's not even a complicated one, more like a medium size one. Big consulting jobs typically have a prequalifier where you only accept a handful of detailed submissions because they can run into hundreds or thousands of pages. It's good business for both parties because the cost of writing and losing offers are baked into the consulting price, being one in hundred means ninety-nine of them will walk away with a loss while if you're one in three everybody knows you have a good shot at winning. Likewise, time is money on the buyer's end too so you don't want to spend too much time evaluating offers.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
  13. Wonder if the position is drug tested? by Nyder · · Score: 2

    That would be very funny. You'd have to past a drug test to be the Pot Czar. =)

    --
    Be seeing you...
    1. Re:Wonder if the position is drug tested? by twistofsin · · Score: 1

      That would be very funny. You'd have to past a drug test to be the Pot Czar. =)

      I live a state over (Idaho) so this whole process has been on the local news a lot. Applicants cannot have any history at all of illegal drug use, so I wouldn't be surprised if (initial at least) drug screening is required.

    2. Re:Wonder if the position is drug tested? by EGenius007 · · Score: 1

      If your urine tested negative for THC would you consider that a pass or a failure in this case?

      --
      I know what you did last summer. Just kidding, I don't work at the NSA.
    3. Re:Wonder if the position is drug tested? by ixidor · · Score: 1

      yes but if pot is now legal in that state, can they toke up and pass the drug test?

  14. Also, lower barrier to entry for applicants by muhula · · Score: 1

    The article mentions the electronic process being easier for reviewers to go over the application, but the numerous applications might have been related to not having to file things on paper in multiple forms and simplifying the process. I'd wager that my eye insurance co avoids moving claims online to reduce their payout rate.

  15. RFP == Business Plan by foniksonik · · Score: 1

    This is not soliciting resumes people. It's a business plan RFP to run the program.

    It will have a budget, a hiring plan, a schedule with milestones and target goals. There will be a pro forma p&l to show how the budget will work and what the taxpayers will have to pick up the tab for. It will also have to work within the legal guidelines, which complicates things a lot.

    --
    A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
    1. Re:RFP == Business Plan by foniksonik · · Score: 1

      It sounds like this was a structured data review system which has little if anything to do with the format the plans came in. It's very likely that each reviewer did in fact read the proposals. Then instead of sitting together and trying the debate the merits of each they instead used a review system to grade them for some set of criteria.

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      A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
  16. Re:WE Offer... by gagol · · Score: 1

    If you are to spam around as anonymous, at least provide a link to your product! It looks like you used to much of, oh wait, it's 4:20... what was I saying? Oh yeah, you qualify to be the new czar (whatever that means).

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    Tomorrow is another day...
  17. They expected a lot more by EngnrFrmrlyKnownAsAC · · Score: 1

    Well, at least us Washington residents expected there would be many more than 100 applicants, especially considering that a criminal background didn't immediately bar you from consideration. The state probably expected more as well and hired a consultant accordingly. There's some tidbits in the article that stand out to me:

    He created an intelligent form in Google Docs for the review form.

    He ensured the security of the system by giving the users each a unique ID (e.g., Reviewer1, Reviewer2, etc.) and password, which protected the system integrity and maintained the anonymity of each reviewer

    Uhh... doesn't using Google Docs negate the anonymity? Personally, I wouldn't consider it 'secure' either (if Google implodes, can /you/ restore your data?).

    The system design cost just $7800 to put together. License fees for Box and DocuSign were not included in the total cost because the Liquor Control Board bought those separately.

    Translated: The system design exceeded $10,000 so the Liquor Control Board started parallel, separate purchases of Box and DocuSign licenses to avoid the bid requirement.

    It worked so well, cloudPWR is selling the solution to other governments processing RFPs.

    Considering the level of investment (and that it's already paid for), I wonder what they will be charging. The website is one big contact form but maybe they just haven't decided. Personally, I think if WA hadn't procrastinated to a 10 day deadline, they could have afforded to hire someone who would use open-source tools.

    That article just left me curious who the first Cannabis Commissioner will be! (Pot czar is so ugly; it reminds me of Gil Kerlikowske.)

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    Howdy howdy howdy
  18. They've already selected their "pot czar" by JDG1980 · · Score: 5, Informative

    This wasn't mentioned in the article or the summary, but Washington State has apparently already completed the selection process. The contract was awarded to BOTEC Analysis, a consulting firm run by drug policy analyst and blogger Mark Kleiman. You can watch a CNN interview with Kleiman here. Kleiman's blog posts on drug policy are archived here.

  19. Nazi analogy by hoboroadie · · Score: 1

    Did Halliburton submit an RFP?

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    They feared that it could be used to suppress protest or support unpopular rule.
  20. Buzz by OptimalCynic · · Score: 1

    At least the summary is fully buzzword compliant.

  21. Re:Probably not just about facts by hoboroadie · · Score: 1

    Wow. You've cornered the market on information, evidently. My brother has been living in Arnhem for a couple decades, and I asked him recently about that failure in Amsterdam to which you refer. Apparently not so well-publicised in the Netherlands as he had not heard anything.
    I have to say, banning tourists from a coffeeshop sounds deranged, but then it is tourists we're talking about.

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    They feared that it could be used to suppress protest or support unpopular rule.
  22. Czar = monarch by qaz123 · · Score: 1

    The word czar is from Russian and means monarch. (Originated from the name Ceasar)
    Pot Czar = King of Pot ? Sounds funny

  23. Slashdot--several weeks behind the curve again.... by Ellis+D.+Tripp · · Score: 1

    That article just left me curious who the first Cannabis Commissioner will be!

    Wonder no more:

    http://www.thedailychronic.net/2013/16413/washington-state-names-ucla-professor-pot-czar/

    http://www.thedailychronic.net/2013/16401/mark-kleiman-wins-washington-marijuana-legalization-implementation-contract/

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