California’s Commercial Cannabis Licensing Agencies released the Permanent Regulations submitted to the Office of Administrative Law for final review.
California’s Commercial Cannabis Regulations were first issued as Emergency Regulations in December 2017. Those Emergency Regulations were revised and published in July 2018, and revised and published again in October 2018.
The Regulations submitted to the Office of Administrative Law (“OAL”) on December 3, 2018, are the proposed Permanent Regulations for California’s Commercial Cannabis Industry. Public Comment on the Permanent Regulations is formally closed. The OAL has 30 working days (until January 16, 2018) to review the rulemaking package for approval or rejection.
Highlights of the Permanent Regulations include the following revisions:
White-Labeling – the prior proposed rule identified specific types of contracts that were prohibited. The BCC decided to revise the language by removing those specific transactions and generally stating:
“Licensees shall not conduct commercial cannabis activities on behalf of, at the request of, or pursuant to a contract with any person that is not licensed under the Act.” (BCC Regulation § 5032(b))
Value of Goods in Delivery Vehicle Remains $5,000 – the BCC revised the value of cannabis goods carried in a Delivery vehicle to remain at $5,000. Prior regulations released in July 2018 had identified this amount at $10,000. (BCC Regulation § 5418(a))
State EIN – Applicants for licensure will need to provide their State Employer Identification Number issued by the California Employment Development Department. (BCC Regulation § 5002(c)(34))
The revised Permanent Commercial Cannabis Regulations, under review by the Office of Administrative Law, may be viewed at the corresponding License Agency:
- Bureau of Cannabis Control (Tasked with licensing Distributors, Retailers, Delivery, Testing Laboratories, and Microbusinesses): https://www.bcc.ca.gov/law_regs/proposed_regs.html
- California Department of Public Health’s Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch (Tasked with licensing Manufacturers): https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CEH/DFDCS/MCSB/Pages/Rulemaking.aspx
- California Department of Food and Agriculture’s CalCannabis Division (Tasked with licensing Cultivators): https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/mccp/