CANNABIS EMERGENCY REGULATIONS EFFECTIVE FOR AN ADDITIONAL 180 DAYS

The re-adoption of emergency regulations for cannabis manufacturers, issued by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), has been approved. The effective period for these regulations and those issued by the Bureau of Cannabis Control and California Department of Food & Agriculture has been extended 180 days while the state licensing authorities finalize permanent regulations.

The re-adopted regulations, summary of changes and findings of emergency can be viewed at the links below:

One of the most prominent changes in this re-adoption is removal of restrictions created by the adult use (“A”) and medicinal (“M”) license designations. Businesses will be able to complete one license application and receive one license allowing them to operate in both markets. Beginning June 6, 2018, designation of cannabis and cannabis products as adult-use or medicinal will primarily occur at the time of retail sale, except for higher-THC products permitted only in the medicinal market.

Under previous rules, cannabis plants would have been designated at cultivation for either the A or M market and the plant material and resulting products would be required to maintain that designation throughout the supply chain. Significant public feedback was received – including through a formal recommendation from the Cannabis Advisory Committee – that the A and M market separations would significantly constrain the newly regulated market, risk over- and undersupply, increase the risk for diversion/inversion and reduce incentives for businesses to participate in the smaller medicinal market.

The state cannabis licensing authorities developed emergency regulations to implement the mandates of the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), signed into law in June 2017. CDPH’s regulations, which became effective on December 7, 2017, outlined the statewide standards and licensing requirements for commercial cannabis manufacturers. Emergency regulations are effective for 180 days and must be re-adopted to stay in effect. CDPH provided public notice of the re-adoption on May 18, a public comment period was held from May 25-29, and OAL approved the regulations on June 6.  

For more information on CDPH’s Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch, visit www.cdph.ca.gov/mcsb . For questions, contact us: mcsb@cdph.ca.gov or (855) 421-7887.

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FAQs for Licensees

I submitted two applications, for both A- and M-licenses, for my premises. Based on the changes in the re-adoption of the emergency regulations only one license application is required for both activities on one premises, so what will happen with the duplicate application fee I paid?
The balance of the funds will be applied to your license fee. License fees are due upon approval of your application by the Department.

I submitted two applications, for both A- and M-licenses, for my premises. Based on the changes in the re-adoption of the emergency regulations will that change how my applications are reviewed?
Our office will utilize your A license application as the primary application and aggregate the total gross revenue of your A & M license to determine your license fee. We will contact you if we have questions on the application during our review.

If you have any additional questions about your license or application, please contact our licensing team at MCLS@cdph.ca.gov

Which products must be labeled “FOR MEDICAL USE ONLY,” and which licensee is responsible for doing this labeling?
Products with more than 1,000 milligrams of THC that can only be sold in the medicinal market must be labeled by the manufacturer “FOR MEDICAL USE ONLY.” Other products, which can be sold in either market, will be labeled with this phrase by retailers at the time of sale to a medicinal consumer.