The new structure adds more tiers of payment, and accounts for some large-scale operators who are making tens of millions of dollars each year.īecause of the state’s tight turnaround time between the passage of Proposition 64 and the enactment date of legalization, implementing permanent regulations from the get-go just wasn’t a possibility, explained Traverso. As a result of the most recent round of public comment, Traverso said, state regulators changed the licensing fee structure, which determines how much an applicant will have to pay the state based on their estimated annual sales. The last round alone elicited more than 6,000 public comments, said Traverso.Ĭalifornians have debated a range of regulatory issues, including legal operating hours for retail operations, restrictions on delivery, and pesticide testing requirements. The reveal comes after months of public hearings, revisions to the language of the laws, and community feedback. In addition to issuing annual licenses, California is also less than a a month away from releasing its final version of cannabis regulations. Permitted operators will be required to use the state’s track-and-trace system, intended to keep better tabs on movement through the supply chain and ensure that products remain within the legal system rather than being diverted to the illicit market. If disputes arise and state regulators accuse a licensee of wrongdoing, for example, that operator can now take that decision to an appeals board and fight to maintain their license.Ĭalifornia’s transition to full licensing is also a huge step for the overall accountability of the cannabis industry. It also gives operators a bit more procedural protection. While more difficult to secure, these annual licenses are good for an entire year and provide the dispensaries, distributors, and event organizers who receive them with a greater degree of permanence and overall sense of legitimacy, said Traverso at the BCC. In stark contrast to temporary licenses, which had been issued up until that point and required little more than local approval and a diagram of the premises, annual permits entail an exhaustive application process that includes a rigorous environmental impact review under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. In early November, BCC issued its first 12 annual licenses to cannabis businesses. “California is a highly regulatory state,” he said, “and they’ve written themselves into a corner with very tough requirements.” 3. The average lab test costs between $500 to $800 to perform, said Gieringer of California NORML, and the standards for cannabis are far more rigorous than they are for most fruits and vegetables. While accurate labeling is crucial to ensure the safety and consistency of commercial cannabis, some critics claim the program is overly strict-and expensive. Other failing products contained unacceptable levels of pesticides, microbial impurities, or moisture. Most often this was due to inaccurate labeling, for example claiming a product contained more THC than it actually did. Of these, more than 3,000 failed to meet testing standards. 2, 19,707 batches of cannabis flower, edibles, oil cartridges, and other products had been tested by licensed laboratory facilities in California. More Than 19,000 Batches Have Been Lab TestedĪs of Nov. Looking for something? Let Leafly light the way FIND 2.
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