California Governor Gavin Newsom wants to ban the sale of hemp products, many of which look like candy, to children.
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JustCBD's emoji gummies were on display at the Cannabis World Congress & Business Expo trade show in New York on Thursday, May 30, 2019. This treat contains non-psychoactive cannabidiol, CBD. (AP Photo/Jeremy Rehm)
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Jana Adams has fought this battle before.
Seven years ago, she pushed the Santa Rosa Public School District to admit her daughter, Brooke Adams, to the school. Brooke has Dravet syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy. Cannabis oil helped control her seizures. Rincon Valley Union School District officials refused to allow the use of such drugs on campus until an administrative law judge struck them down in 2018.
Since then, Brooke has grown, her mother said. She attended public school with the help of a nurse, learned how to ride a bicycle, went to friends' houses to work on school projects, and even tried horseback riding.
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But Adams said all that progress could come undone after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced new emergency regulations last month “to stop the peddling of cannabis products to California children.” I'm concerned.
If the cause seemed noble, Adams immediately foresaw unintended consequences. She knew that Brooke's marijuana-based seizure treatment was subject to the governor's ban.
Mr. Newsom's bill targeted the parallel cannabis sector, which produces food, dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals, rather than legal marijuana, and sought to close loopholes in federal and state law. The 2018 U.S. Farm Bill removed hemp with a THC concentration of 0.3% or less from the Controlled Substances Act, distinguishing it from other forms of cannabis. In California, hemp businesses faced looser regulations and licensing requirements than those imposed on marijuana dispensaries, and there were no restrictions on where hemp could be sold or who could purchase it.
Few expected what would happen next. Public health experts say cannabis companies will find ways to sneak large amounts of psychoactive compounds into candy and seltzer sold in grocery stores.
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In a joint letter to Congress in March, Attorney General Rob Bonta and 20 other attorneys general sounded the alarm about the rise of potent hemp products and urged changes to federal law. So Newsom decided to take action.
In his measure, approved by the Office of Administrative Law on September 23, the governor would ban industrial foods, supplements, beverages, and additives from containing “detectable THC,” as well as prohibit the purchase of hemp edibles. It was also established that people must be at least 21 years old. And limit the number of servings per package.
The governor said he wants to protect children from drugs. The backlash was swift.
Traders and industry groups balked, arguing that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to remove all traces of THC from hemp foods and supplements. Items ranging from edible sleep aids to appetite suppressants, many of which are sold as benign or beneficial, will be removed from California retail stores. Newsom and the state Department of Public Health will put pressure on the industry.
In addition to business groups, there were parents like Adams, who were panicking that their children would be deprived of vital treatment for their medical conditions.
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A number of business and industry moguls, including famed comedy duo-turned-cannabis entrepreneurs Cheech and Chong, have sued the Department of Public Health, claiming the state circumvented the rulemaking process and imposed standards they say It didn't take long to file a complaint. Strict. ”
“This is like asking candy to stop containing sugar starting tomorrow,” the plaintiffs wrote in the complaint. This week, they filed for a temporary restraining order to prevent Newsom's rules from taking effect.
Their allegations appear to be disingenuous to Dr. Lynn Silver. A pediatrician and senior consultant at the nonprofit Public Health Institute in Oakland, she testified at a hearing in Sacramento as lawmakers craft a cannabis framework. Silver said he warned early on that California's Industrial Hemp Act of 2021 (AB45), as written, would not prevent addictive products from entering the market.
Silver has long watched the hemp industry evolve as merchants who once sold humble clothing and biodegradable hemp plastic realized they could make more money with products that generated buzz. Ta.
“A 10-year-old kid in California can walk into a corner store and get addictive hemp products that contain far more THC than a 50-year-old kid can get at a legal marijuana dispensary,” Silver said. he said. He said hemp manufacturers are now using “creative chemistry” to convert non-psychoactive cannabidiol, called CBD, into “a host of highly addictive THC-like compounds that get you high.” He added that they are circumventing state law.
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Such tweaks in the chemical composition of edible cannabis are not only dangerous for consumers, but also undermine legitimate dispensaries that have secured licenses to sell marijuana, Silver said.
“This is an area where public health and the legal cannabis industry really collaborate,” she added. Some cannabis companies view the partnership as a conspiracy. In interviews, some speculated without evidence that he lobbied Newsom to declare a state of emergency to give marijuana dispensaries more control over the lucrative market.
Newsom and other state leaders made their rationale clear at a September news conference.
“Nobody expected the kind of exploitation we've seen in the cannabis industry,” Newsom said, pointing to a table stacked with what appeared to be canned drinks and colorful bags of candy.
“These items were picked up by our immediate staff just yesterday,” Newsom said. He held up a pack of gummy bears shaped like cartoon faces.
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“You immediately think, 'Is that a Disney product?'” the governor said. “Your eyes deceive you. On purpose.”
Opponents of the regulation said they also object to deceptive and manipulative marketing that appears to target young people. Still, they believe Newsom's response is wrong, taking a scorched-earth approach that will destroy companies operating in good faith.
“They're targeting the bad guys, but we're not the bad guys,” said Chad Paid, owner of CBD Wellness Shops in Petaluma, Lafayette and Concord. He also serves as co-CEO of SunMed CBD, a Florida company that sells a variety of gummies, creams, and tinctures.
After his contract is extended, Paydo said he will close his Petaluma store and not sign a new contract until he knows whether orders will continue and how it will affect his business. said. The Lafayette lease expires in January, so that store could also close, he said.
Mr. Paid described himself as a potential victim of the rules, stressing that well-organized suburban boutiques do not focus on intoxicating products. Rather, the shelves are filled with skin creams and topical ointments in pink and white packaging that do not qualify for the order, as well as ingestible capsules and liquids, some of which can be used to treat insomnia and other problems. Some target common illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder. . Paydo says these stores cater to baby boomer customers, customers who don't feel comfortable walking into a traditional pharmacy.
Jim Higdon, co-founder of Cornbread Hemp, a Kentucky manufacturer that sells to retail stores in California, said strict card checks are in place to prevent minors from purchasing hemp foods and beverages containing THC. , believes the governor can achieve his goals with more limited interventions.
“Stores are perfectly capable of requiring customers who may be under 21 to show identification at checkout,” Higdon said. “If that is the scope of Governor Newsom's order, it would resolve the issues of concern he has expressed regarding teens and minors' access to these products.”
Instead, Newsom took a broader move to essentially outlaw hemp, even with trace amounts of THC, in California “to effectively eliminate the market,” Higdon said.
Sitting in his office in Louisville, Kentucky, Higdon predicted the impact on his company and the entire hemp supply chain.
During the video conference, he held up a bag of watermelon CBD gummies made by Cornbread. Higdon pointed to the label.
“It has an organic watermelon flavor from California,” he said. “50mg of CBD per package, 2mg of THC per gummy. So even though this is marketed as a non-intoxicating product, it does contain THC and would be subject to Governor Newsom's ban.” ”
Now that Cornbread is prohibited from selling products such as watermelon gummies in California, the company is losing a “very important market,” Higdon said. Not only is he worried that his products will disappear from store shelves, but that the new rules will jeopardize his relationships with potential buyers. Higdon said he has had “numerous conversations” with California natural food chains who have expressed interest in his brand, but for the regulatory uncertainty caused by Newsom and the Department of Public Health.
Governor Gavin Newsom addresses the press after signing legislation aimed at combating retail crime in the state at the Home Depot on Friday, August 16, 2024 in San Jose, California. Tien An Truong/Chronicle special feature
While businesses are predicting dire losses, the toll for parents could be even more dire.
Previously, Adams had purchased Brooke's marijuana-infused medications from an out-of-state wellness company founded by another parent of a child diagnosed with Dravet syndrome. With the new rules in place, Adams is worried that she won't be able to receive these mail orders.
“Dispensaries are not going to carry marijuana,” Adams said, noting that most retail marijuana stores specialize in recreational marijuana, not medical marijuana.
“My child is collateral damage,” she added.
A California Department of Public Health spokesperson said the emergency regulations do not apply to anti-epileptic drugs “such as CBD” when prescribed by a medical professional. But Adams said the CBD her daughter is taking is not a prescription drug, even though a doctor is monitoring her regimen.
Silver expressed sympathy for Adams, but said “there are alternatives,” including FDA-approved medications and similar substances sold at medical marijuana dispensaries.
But Adams said she visited pharmacies around the state and couldn't find one that sold the cannabis tincture her daughter needed. Seeking a workaround, she considered traveling out of state to purchase the drug, but remains wary of laws that prohibit transport across state lines.
So far, there hasn't been a clear path forward for Adams' family and other medical marijuana users, who say they are “struggling to figure it all out.” She doesn't know how this fight will turn out, but she sees the possibility of more lawsuits against Newsom.
Contact Rachel Swan: rswan@sfchronicle.com
