California bans THC. Credit: Mike Fig Photo/Shutterstock.com
The sale of consumable hemp products that have a detectable level of THC has been banned in California.
The emergency legislation, which came into effect this week, was proposed by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
It bans the sale of hemp-derived THC products in the state. The regulation impacts hemp food, beverage and dietary products that contain THC.
Newsom introduced the emergency regulation on 6 September to “protect” children from the “adverse” health effects of “dangerous” consumable hemp products that were available in retail stores across the state.
“We will not sit on our hands as drug peddlers target our children with dangerous and unregulated hemp products containing THC at our retail stores,” Newsom said.
“We’re taking action to close loopholes and increase enforcement to prevent children from accessing these dangerous hemp and cannabis products.”
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The regulation also sets a minimum age of 21 to purchase hemp products in California.
Retailers are now required to remove any hemp food, beverage, and dietary products that contain THC from shelves. The emergency regulations are due to expire in March 2025.
In an open letter to Newsom, Jonathan Miller, the General Counsel for the trade association US Hemp Roundtable, said the regulation would be a “death knell” for hemp farmers and businesses in California.
“Prohibition never works, and it’s especially not effective in protecting children. You know quite personally that intoxicating products can be limited to adults – with enforcement of retail ID checks and new online software that provides meaningful age-gating,” Miller wrote.
“Most of the products you featured at your press conference are available at Total Wine, which doesn’t even allow kids in their stores. Just a few aisles down from the hemp section, you can find plenty of bottles of your Plumpjack Wine. The alcohol regulatory model isn’t perfect, but it works well in shielding minors from intoxicants.”
In May, US President Joe Biden set out plans to reclassify marijuana as a less addictive drug under federal law, consequently carrying fewer penalties for possession or sale.
Marijuana has a so-called schedule one status in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Controlled Substances Act, placing it on the same level as heroin and methamphetamine.
At the time, the US National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) welcomed the proposal to reschedule marijuana but noted it was just a “first step” towards a “rational marijuana policy”.
In the US, there are a number of CBD and THC beverage companies working within the legalised states. However, few of the major brand owners have fully committed to the category and some have pulled back from previous investments.
Molson Coors announced in November 2022 it was to exit both the ready-to-drink and CBD beverage categories, citing that it saw “no near-term pathway to federal legislation”.
In 2017, Constellation Brands invested in Canadian marijuana venture Canopy Growth, at one stage owning 38.6% of the company. However, in 2022, Constellation moved to reduce its exposure to marijuana and converted its common stock holding in Canopy Growth into exchangeable shares in the Canadian firm.
