On January 1, 2018, recreational cannabis became legal in the state of California under Prop 64. To prevent widespread chaos amongst distributors and dispensaries throughout the Golden State, California enacted a six-month grace period to get all of their products and packaging for adult-use and medical purposes under compliance.
Seems fair, right?
Well, the six-month mark is quickly approaching and as of July 1, 2018, any cannabis distributor or dispensary who has not made the switch, risks fines and the potential loss of license.
As a result, industry experts are anticipating a shortage for the summer as distributors and dispensaries play catch up.
“We gave everyone six months to use up their supply on hand and get ready for the new standards that were coming July 1,” said Alex Traverso, spokesman for the state’s cannabis bureau. “We felt like that was a sufficient amount of transition time.”
So, what exactly are these new rules?
For starters, products are required to be tested in a licensed lab to check for contaminants such as pesticides, heavy metals, microbial contamination and residual solvents as well as levels of THC. As of now, there are 28 licensed labs throughout California, and business owners should expect longer-than-usual wait times resulting in a temporary shortage.
Second, proper labels must indicate it is a cannabis product, the date the product was made and include a safety warning.
Third, according to the Cannifornian, there will be limits placed on THC potency in edibles to prevent overconsumption. “The THC limit of 10 milligrams per serving of any edible, using the level that’s become the standard serving size. The rules also would limit an entire package of edibles to no more than 100 milligrams.” Additionally, oils and topicals for recreational users max out at 1,000 milligrams and at 2,000 for medical users.
Lastly, at the time of sale, all products must be packaged in child-resistant packaging.
To those who think the state of California is bluffing, be warned. California Governor Jerry Brown is fighting to collect funding to crack down on the cannabis black market.
Businesses who are not up code are more than likely going to throw a sale to push the items quickly out the door while they prep to become official in the eyes of the law. After July 1st, consumers can expect raised prices and a shortage of product for the next couple of months.
