Emergency regulations implemented for industrial hemp in California in September last year are likely to be renewed soon.
In early September 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced emergency regulations requiring industrial hemp food, food additives, beverages, and dietary supplements have no detectable THC per serving and could not be sold to persons under the age of 21. Furthermore, such products could have no more than 5 servings per package.
This governor’s action was triggered by an explosion of intoxicating hemp products being widely available in California, including from retail outlets such as convenience stores.
Once in place, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) began a series of sweeps of licensed locations to ensure they complied with the regulations. Since implementation, ABC agents have visited 9,251 locations and seized 7,007 hemp products from 141 violators.
Some of the emergency regulations were set to expire this month, but the California Department of Public Health has published a notice of intention to readopt regulations in relation to age limits and serving sizes. Readoption of regulations concerning the state’s list of intoxicating cannabinoids is not required at this point as it remains in effect for 18 months from September 23, 2024.
Once submitted to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL), OAL will allow five calendar days for submission of comments on the proposed readoption.
More broadly and according to a recent release from the Governor’s office, officials seized an estimated retail value of $534 million of unlicensed cannabis in 2024. And since 2019, approximately $2.8 billion in illegal cannabis has been seized in California.
But it seems that may be just a drop in the bucket. Recent analysis of more than 100 products marketed as hemp in California from dozens of brands found broad use of synthetic cannabinoids, very high potencies and tax evasion.
California was the first US state to allow medicinal cannabis use after voters passed the Compassionate Use Act in 1996. In 2016, the state’s voters legalized the recreational use of cannabis. Legal cannabis products containing THC can be purchased for recreational or medical use by adults from licensed dispensaries.
According to the California Department of Cannabis Control, there are around 1,230 licensed retailers in the state; 1,160 of those licensed for medicinal and adult-use sales.
