Weed Feed: Expect Gangbuster Deals at California Dispensaries Until July 1; Stores Required to Sell or Toss Old Supplies to Meet State Regulations

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WEED FEED / John Ross Ferrara / Monday, June 18, 2018 @ 11:51 a.m.

Weed Feed: Expect Gangbuster Deals at California Dispensaries Until July 1; Stores Required to Sell or Toss Old Supplies to Meet State Regulations

Origional image of money by Flick user 401(K) 2012. Graphic by John Ferrara.

California dispensaries have less than two weeks to either hawk or huck their current backstock of weed products that no longer meet state regulations, causing blowout sales until the end of June.

The sales mark the end of a six-month transition period that the California Bureau of Cannabis Control gave pot shops to get rid of any products bought before January 1, 2018.

One of the local deals happening now as a result of the July 1 regulations deadline.

“Any product on hand that has not gone through normal testing procedures must either be sold or destroyed,” BCC spokesperson Alex Traverso told the Outpost.

Because these products were purchased before Prop. 64 went into effect, they weren’t held to the same standards that state law now requires, including pesticide, contamination and potency testing — done in private labs — and stricter marijuana packaging and labeling.

Any dispensaries found to still be selling these older, less-regulated products by July 1, will be subject to fines and having their licenses revoked. As a result, stores are scrambling to clear their shelves by the end of the month.

While the new packaging and testing laws are creating short-term deals for customers, Executive Director of the California Growers Association Hezekiah Allen speculates that marijuana prices eventually may rise — although not immediately after the July 1 regulations deadline.

“The impact to price on July 1, may be muted, as many producers have already been complying with the July deadline, so those additional new costs are already calculated into their price,” Allen told the Outpost. “For others though, the scramble to meet this deadline is a very serious challenge.”

Allen said he worries that the pricey lab testing now required by state law will eventually push marijuana prices to the point where consumers will turn back to the black market.

“Regulated cannabis in California is held to the highest testing standards, and those tests are quite costly,” Allen said. “I am concerned that the added cost combined with some of the highest taxes in the nation may push some California consumers to unregulated markets. There is a public health risk to making the cost of testing too high.”

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The Weed Feed is a weekly column written by John Ross Ferrara.

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