“This packaging provides a thin yet frightening veil of legitimacy for illicit operators,” said CDTFA Director Nick Maduros. “It violates the trust of California consumers who believe that the cannabis symbol signifies a certain product standard, and it enables illegal operators to circumvent tax and licensing requirements.”
Packaging requirements
Cannabis goods must be labeled to ensure consumers are informed about what they are buying and to prevent unintended use, including through packaging that is child-resistant, tamper-evident, resealable, opaque if an edible cannabis product, and includes the universal symbol for cannabis.
“The operation in the Toy District represents an important new direction by the Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce to disrupt unlicensed cannabis sales. Illegal packaging is dangerous to consumers, especially when it is ripping-off well-known brands that are attractive to children, and needs to be removed from the marketplace,” said DCC Director Nicole Elliott.
The universal cannabis symbol on cannabis packaging creates a sense of trust in consumers that the product has been tested and complies with licensing and regulatory standards for sale and safe consumption in California. In order to legally sell or store packaging marked with the symbol, businesses have to be licensed with DCC or have invoices from a cannabis business licensed by the Department.
Taking down illicit cannabis
Governor Newsom has directed state agencies to aggressively target the organized criminal enterprises involved in the illicit cannabis market. These illegal schemes not only threaten California’s legal cannabis market, but the use of illegal pesticides and unregulated practices harm California’s environment and water quality. California is also focused on ending the exploitation of vulnerable workers at these sites, who are often victims of labor violations and human trafficking.
A unified strategy across California
In 2022, Governor Newsom created the UCETF to further align state efforts and increase cannabis enforcement coordination between state, local, and federal partners. The enforcement actions protect consumer and public safety, safeguard the environment, and deprive illegal cannabis operators and transnational criminal organizations of illicit revenue that harms consumers and undercuts the regulated cannabis market in California.
Since its inception, UCETF has seized over $465 million in unlicensed cannabis by serving 309 search warrants. The taskforce has also eradicated 470,435 illegal cannabis plants, seized 150 illegal firearms, and arrested 38 individuals.
To learn more about the legal California cannabis market, state licenses, and laws, visit cannabis.ca.gov. |
