Hoping to have your weed biz ready to serve the public come New Year’s Day? Among other many things, you have some light reading to do!

Prop. 64’s passage in November 2016 meant that lawmakers had to rush to figure out how to implement the thing by Jan. 1, 2018. On Thursday a trio of California cannabis regulating bodies released 276 pages of long-awaited proposed emergency licensing regulations that will govern the weed world in transition starting next year when the state begins issuing licenses to businesses. This latest set of rules comes after months of public hearings and feedback in response to the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act signed by Governor Jerry Brown back in June. 

With a month-and-a-half until California’s cannabis independence day, here’s what they came up with. Below are links to the full regulations as well as some dumbed down fact sheets for quick reference:

Bureau of Cannabis Control:

CA Department of Food and Agriculture:

CA Department of Public Health:

Does this mean all of California’s cannabis kinks are worked out? Unquestionably hell no! But good luck, entrepreneurs, on the wacky, uncertain road ahead!

Full release from the Bureau of Cannabis Control below:

 

California’s three state cannabis licensing authorities announced today that proposed emergency licensing regulations for commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis have been posted online and are available to the public for review.

The Department of Consumer Affairs’ Bureau of Cannabis Control, Department of Public Health’s Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch, and Department of Food and Agriculture’s CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Division each developed the new regulations to reflect the law defined in California’s Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA).

On June 27, 2017, the Governor signed MAUCRSA, which creates one regulatory system for both medicinal and adult-use cannabis. Prior to that law’s passage, state licensing authorities had released proposed regulations to govern the implementation of the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act. The public hearings and comments from a broad cross section of stakeholders that were informing that regulatory process have also been taken into consideration in the drafting of these proposed emergency regulations.

The licensing authorities expect the emergency regulations to be effective in December 2017. The implementation date for the issuance of the state commercial cannabis licenses remains the same: January 1, 2018. However, California will only be able to license those businesses that are in compliance will all local laws.

In addition, the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency will hold a workshop with state-chartered banks and credit unions next month to discuss regulatory and compliance issues, as well as potential approaches to banking cannabis-related businesses.
For additional information about the proposed regulations, or to subscribe to email alerts to hear about updates as they become available, please visit our website - http://www.bcc.ca.gov/.

For information on all three licensing authorities, please visit the state’s cannabis web portal – cannabis.ca.gov. Follow the Bureau on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for daily news and updates.