California’s Ban on Intoxicating Hemp Products Now in Effect
What You Need To Know: California’s emergency regulations to ban THC-containing hemp products and establish stronger protections to safeguard California’s children from the dangerous effects of THC are now in effect. Retail sale of hemp food, beverage, and dietary products containing detectable amounts of THC is now unlawful and those products must be removed from the retail marketplace. Products that combine CBD and THC will continue to remain for sale at cannabis dispensaries.
SACRAMENTO, September 24, 2024 – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced California’s emergency regulations to protect children and teens from the adverse effects of dangerous intoxicating hemp products are now in effect. Retailers must cease selling any industrial hemp food, beverage or dietary product intended for human consumption if there is any detectable THC or other intoxicating cannabinoids per serving. The regulations, proposed by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), were approved by the Office of Administrative Law yesterday.
The emergency regulations respond to increasing health incidents related to intoxicating hemp products, which state regulators have found sold across the state. Children are particularly at risk should they consume these products. Studies show that use of these products can negatively impact cognitive functions, memory, and decision-making abilities in developing brains.
What The Regulations Do
The new regulations for hemp-derived food, beverage, and dietary products:
- Ban any detectable amount of THC or other intoxicating cannabinoids per serving.
- Ban sales to people under 21.
- Limit servings to five per package.
What The Regulations Do Not Do
- The regulations do not ban hemp-derived CBD products with no detectable THC or other intoxicating cannabinoids.
- The regulations do not impact the sale of any cannabis products. Cannabis products, including products purchased for medical use and products with CBD and THC, will remain for sale at cannabis dispensaries.
Why This Matters
California became the first state to allow medicinal cannabis use when voters passed the Compassionate Use Act in 1996, and then in 2016, voters legalized the recreational use of cannabis. California’s cannabis industry is strictly regulated, requiring that businesses operate safely, products are labeled and tested to protect consumers from contaminants, and that children are prevented from accessing cannabis products. Absent stronger laws and regulations, hemp manufacturers have been exploiting the law to produce and market hemp products that contain THC without the safeguards in place for similar cannabis products. Intoxicating hemp products have been made available at major and small retailers and marketed for their intoxicating THC properties. These new regulations ban these sales.
State regulators, including CDPH, the Department of Cannabis Control, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the CA Department of Tax and Fee Administration, and state and local law enforcement officials, will begin immediate action to enforce these requirements.
