Cannabis Advisory Committee to Commence Regulatory Consolidation Discussions

On August 20-21, the Bureau of Cannabis Control’s Cannabis Advisory Committee will kick off discussions to consolidate the state’s three cannabis licensing entities into one single cannabis agency, the Department of Cannabis Control, pursuant to the Governor’s January Proposed 2020-21 Budget, which sought to restructure state regulatory functions for commercial cannabis activities.

Currently, there are three main cannabis licensing agencies: Department of Consumer Affairs (Bureau of Cannabis Control), the Department of Food and Agriculture (CalCannabis), and the Department of Public Health (Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch). Regulatory consolidation is expected to create a single point of contact for licensees and counties/cities, which are required to sanction cannabis activities in their respective municipality. The Newsom Administration was not able to move forward with details of this proposal in the May Revise due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the Cannabis Advisory Committee meeting will commence stakeholder discussions and accept public comments on this concept. More information on the Cannabis Advisory Committee can be found here.