Final California Marijuana Industry Rules May Not Be Made Public Until January

Although California’s final cannabis industry regulations will reportedly be completed Monday, many industry insiders likely won’t be able to read them until January.

That may be a disappointment to marijuana businesses that were anticipating being able to see the final rules sooner than later.

“We expect to send our final version of permanent regulations to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) on Monday, Dec. 3,” Alex Traverso, spokesman for the California Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC), wrote in an email to Marijuana Business Daily.

“That will kick off a 30-day review period for OAL. The regulations will not be made public while OAL conducts its review,” he added.

Traverso wrote that the anticipated public release of final regulations after the OAL has given approval is “likely in early- (or) mid-January.”

He noted the BCC is exploring possible ways to make the regulations public sooner.

The state’s Department of Food and Agriculture, which oversees cultivators, and the Department of Public Health, which governs MJ manufacturers, will also be sending final rules to the OAL on Monday.

A similar timeline is expected for the regulations to be made public from all three agencies.

The regulations have taken more than a year for state officials to craft, and they have gone through multiple revisions throughout 2018.

The latest drafts of permanent rules were released Oct. 19.

Traverso said that until the OAL approves the final rules, the industry will be governed by emergency regulations that were re-adopted in June.

The OAL did not immediately respond to a MJBizDaily‘s request for comment as to when the final regulations might be published online.

John Schroyer can be reached at [email protected]

Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/final-california-marijuana-industry-rules-may-not-be-made-public-until-january/

Comments

New York City Adds More Exceptions To Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing Ban

An ambitious campaign to decriminalize psychedelics in Washington, D.C., is one step closer to placing their measure on the November ballot with the formal submission of tens of thousands of voter signatures. Organizers have been scrambling for weeks to collect enough signatures from D.C. voters by Monday’s deadline amid historically difficult circumstances: a global pandemic, months of stay-at-home orders and protests over racism and police violence that filled the streets of the nation’s capital. But with the help of innovative signature-gathering techniques and allies flown in from across the country, advocates said they had successfully submitted upwards of 35,000 signatures—more than enough to qualify the initiative. If approved by voters, Initiative 81 would make enforcement of laws against plant- and fungus-based psychedelics among the “lowest law enforcement priorities” for the Metropolitan Police Department. It would not, however, legalize or reduce penalties for the subs...

Virginia CBD Program Criticized As Multistate Medical Cannabis Operators Gain Edge

Seven companies are challenging a CBD licensing process in Virginia that resulted in multistate medical marijuana operators getting a majority of available licenses. The appeals called the process “wildly prejudicial.” Out of 51 applicants for five vertically integrated CBD and THC-A licenses, multistate operators received three, a situation that spurred the appeals, The Virginian-Pilot reported. Applicants filing the appeals complained the closed-meeting review process lacked fairness and transparency. One consultant to an applicant said the selections felt “predetermined.” The Virginia Board of Pharmacy reportedly sent information to the applicants in December explaining its selections, but some applicants weren’t satisfied. A board spokeswoman wrote in an email to the Pilot that the board “does not comment on pending litigation.” The five winning applicants , called “pharmaceutical processors,” have a year from winning the licenses to become operational. The multist...

Mississippi Medical Marijuana Activists Relieved After Controversial Legalization Resolution Stalls Out

Only a day after a new marijuana decriminalization law took effect in Virginia, top state lawmakers are announcing that they’re already looking ahead to full legalization. A group of Democratic legislators on Thursday announced plans to introduce a bill to legalize and regulate a commercial cannabis market in the state. While the measure isn’t set to be filed until next year, lawmakers framed legalization as necessary in the fight for social and racial justice. “Decriminalizing marijuana is an important step in mitigating racial disparities in the criminal justice system, but there is still much work to do,” House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D) said in a press release. “While marijuana arrests across the nation have decreased, arrests in Virginia have increased.” Other lawmakers backing the broader legalization push include Sens. Adam Ebbin (D) and Jennifer McClellan (D), as well as Del. Steve Heretick (D). On Wednesday, the state’s new marijuana decriminalization policy t...

Susan Duggan

Search This Blog