On Wednesday, the state’s three cannabis licensing authorities - the Bureau of Cannabis Control, the California Department of Public Health, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture - announced that the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has officially approved state regulations for cannabis businesses from cultivation to retail. These state regulations allow cannabis cultivators and retailers to participate in the regulated cannabis marketplace.
In order to have met the desire to open the state’s regulated cannabis market on January 1, 2018, the cannabis licensing authorities ratified emergency regulations in December 2017 and again in June 2018. On December 3, 2018, the cannabis licensing authorities submitted a package of regulations to OAL, which started a 30-working day review process. In light of the actions taken Wednesday, the emergency regulations are no longer valid, and these new and permanent regulations become effective immediately.
Of primary concern to municipalities, including rural counties, is the allowance of mobile deliveries into jurisdictions that prevent them from occurring. The regulations contain a provision which allows for ubiquitous authority for licensed retailers to deliver products anywhere in the State. A legal challenge is expected to overturn this aspect of the regulatory package. County Comments expressing opposition to the delivery piece can be accessed here.
Each licensing authority’s final regulations and rulemaking documents can be accessed here.