Politics
California Governor Signs Bills On Marijuana Testing, Tracking And Consumer Access To Information
California’s governor has signed a pair of bills revising various state marijuana laws related to product testing, tracking, consumer access to information and cannabinoid content.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Sunday gave final approval to AB 1965 from Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins (D), which would specify that all marijuana products for sale in the state are subject to testing or retesting and allow the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) to obtain products for off-the-shelf laboratory testing.
The new law also mandates that cannabis retailers are required to provide a product’s certificate of analysis if requested by a consumer.
The measure additionally requires testing labs to undergo performance testing “to ensure consistency of results across laboratories.” Such performance testing can include “blind proficiency testing, round robin testing and any other type of programs that may be used to demonstrate competent performance of a testing laboratory,” the bill says.
The governor also signed AB 2250 from Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D), which makes a number of technical and enforcement-related changes to hemp rules.
Among other reforms, the bill excludes cannabinol (CBN) isolate from that definition of “cannabis concentrate,” building on an earlier law that removed CBD isolate. The changes mean that those cannabinoids won’t be subject to criminal penalties for concentrated cannabis.
The legislation additionally expands the scope of the state’s cannabis track and trace program to include information on cultivation, harvest, processing, manufacturing, distribution, inventory, sale and delivery.
It also says that any business that sells cigarettes or tobacco products is prohibited from selling cannabis.
The newly signed law also clarifies the ability of authorities to seize cannabis products and makes a number of other technical and consistency change to existing statute.
Last month, Newsom signed legislation to more clearly define the types of marijuana packaging and labeling that is prohibited due to appealing to children.
Earlier this month, the governor touted the fact that that legal marijuana sales have generated nearly $8.4 billion in tax revenue for the state since voters legalized recreational cannabis in 2016, saying that the money “helps fund programs that benefit Californians, including childcare and early childhood development, youth substance abuse prevention, medical research and environmental recovery.”
Newsom recently took credit for helping to lead the push for the state to legalize marijuana and discussed his own limited experience with using cannabis.
Last October, however, the governor vetoed a bill that would have allowed certain marijuana microbusinesses to ship medical cannabis products directly to patients via common carriers like FedEx and UPS, stating that the proposal “would be burdensome and overly complex to administer.”
Newsom did sign a bill earlier that month aimed at streamlining research on marijuana and psychedelics.
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Last September, the governor also signed a measure into law to put a pause on a recently enacted tax hike on marijuana products.
Meanwhile, a lawmaker spoke to Marijuana Moment about her decision to put her own bill to legalize cannabis dispensary drive-thru windows on hold for now.
California’s treasurer recently said the marijuana legalization law that voters approved a decade ago has been a “complete failure” and should be replaced with a new ballot initiative that prioritizes consumers and small businesses.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, recently told Marijuana Moment that taxes and regulations on cannabis are “too high.”
California’s top cannabis regulator spoke recently about how the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) hasn’t been cooperative in answering questions about the implications of the Trump administration’s rescheduling move.
DCC Director Clint Kellum said that there have been “national-level efforts” to contact DEA in conjunction with cannabis regulators from other states, but they “just really haven’t seen any sort of interest on that front, unfortunately.”
