Products containing intoxicating cannabinoids derived from cannabis are now illegal in California after the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved Governor Gavin Newsom's emergency regulations on September 23.
According to California law, the regulations require that industrial hemp foods, beverages, and dietary supplements intended for human consumption contain no detectable THC or “equivalent cannabinoids” per serving; The purchaser must be 21 years old and each package must contain 5 or fewer servings. Department of Public Health (CDPH).
Intoxicating cannabis products can still be purchased at California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) licensed dispensaries if you are 21 years of age or older. Products containing CBD are still allowed outside of licensed cannabis markets, but non-intoxicating CBD products containing traceable amounts of THC are prohibited.
CDPH proposed the regulations, and Newsom issued an emergency rule on Sept. 6 to “stop the peddling of intoxicating hemp products to California's children,” according to the governor's press release.
“We cannot stand by and let drug traffickers sell dangerous, unregulated hemp products containing THC to children in our retail stores,” Newsom said in a release. said. “We are taking steps to close loopholes and strengthen enforcement to prevent children from accessing these dangerous hemp and cannabis products.”
The effective date of the emergency regulations is September 23, subject to approval by OAL. The ban on products containing intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids will continue until March 25, 2025, SFGATE reports.
CDPH says this emergency regulation is in response to public health concerns over an increase in incidents related to these products, including complaints of injury and illness.
Retailers, including vape shops, liquor stores, gas stations, and convenience stores, must immediately remove intoxicating cannabinoid products from their shelves and begin implementing purchase restrictions on other cannabis-related products.
Newsom said state regulators, including the Department of Public Health, DCC, California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, and state and local law enforcement authorities, will begin enforcement actions immediately.
“The Bureau of Cannabis Control welcomes these regulatory reforms,” DCC Secretary Nicole Elliott said in the governor's press release. “These rules are an important step in ensuring that products on the market meet the original intent of the law, and we are committed to working with our state partners to enforce state laws. I’m here.”
CDPH and Newsom said the regulatory prohibition is intended to protect young people from the negative health effects associated with “dangerous cannabis products,” but those who rely on THC products for medical necessity may not be able to do so. He said patients under the age of 10 may be eligible for a medical cannabis ID card. By CDPH.
Despite the regulation's public health intent, hemp officials say the governor's ban will ban 90% to 95% of hemp products on the California market and be an industry-destroying move, according to the U.S. Hemp Roundtable (USHR). This is seen as a practical measure.
“Today's 'emergency' action by Governor Newsom is a betrayal of California's cannabis farmers, small businesses, and adult consumers,” USHR General Counsel Jonathan Miller said in an official statement on September 6. Despite creating a sound regulatory framework for the production and sale of hemp products, the Newsom administration has failed to do its job and failed to take steps to enforce it.
“Now, Governor Newsom is addressing legitimate regulatory concerns shared by all good stakeholders in the cannabis industry, such as establishing reasonable policies to protect intoxicating products in the hands of children.” Instead, he instead proposed a complete retail ban on 90-95% of cannabis for adult use, including most non-intoxicating CBD products, which he claims to support in public. Popular hemp products.”
USHR's legal team submitted a 40-page comment to OAL on September 16th. Miller said his organization will explore all legal options with California cannabis farmers and the companies that make up the state's industry.
The USHR also argues that the governor's restrictions are not an emergency and have “no sound policy basis.”
Newsom's emergency regulations take effect about a month after the California Senate Appropriations Committee rejected the governor's proposal to nullify Assembly Bill 2223 and integrate cannabis into the cannabis supply chain.
The bill, sponsored by Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar Curry, would initially allow products containing intoxicating hemp derivatives, including products containing synthetically derived cannabinoids, to be sold at smoke shops, gas stations and liquor stores. The purpose was to restrict the sale of such products.
Until Newsom's emergency regulations go into effect on September 23, California has no law limiting the amount of milligrams of THC in products containing hemp derivatives, according to Humboldt County Growers Alliance policy director Ross Gordon. There wasn't.
RELATED: California governor's proposal to integrate hemp into cannabis supply chain halted
Even though the 2018 Farm Bill federally legalized hemp (defined as containing 0.3% THC or less on a dry weight basis), Newsom's ban on hemp-derived cannabinoid products in California is a special case. It's not a thing. Now, not only is Missouri Gov. Mike Parson taking a similar approach through an executive order, but state attorneys general across the country are also taking action to quell the spread of addictive cannabis products.
USHR agrees with Newsom that hemp products should be regulated and kept out of reach of children in California, but believes the governor's actions go further. .
In an open letter to Newsom on Sept. 12, Miller said the governor was “misinformed” about his authority to issue emergency regulations.
“You have also been misled to suggest that a retail ban on hemp products containing detectable THC is sound policy,” Miller wrote. “Almost all hemp products contain detectable THC, with the majority being non-intoxicating. Prohibition will never work and is especially ineffective at protecting children.
“You are all well aware that the sale of intoxicating products may be restricted to adults only due to ID checks in retail stores and new online software that provides meaningful age restrictions.Reporter Most of the products mentioned at the press conference are available at Total Wine, which doesn't even allow children in. Just down the aisle from the hemp section, there are plenty of bottles of Plumpjack wine. .”
Newsome co-founded PlumpJack Winery in Oakville, California, in the mid-1990s.
“Although the alcohol control model is not perfect, it works well in protecting minors from intoxicating substances,” Miller wrote.
