SACRAMENTO – California’s three cannabis licensing authorities announced Sept. 29 the official withdrawal of the medical cannabis regulations that were proposed in late spring by the Department of Consumer Affairs’ Bureau of Cannabis Control, Department of Public Health’s Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch and Department of Food and Agriculture’s CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing. The official withdrawal will occur October 6. The proposed regulations were geared toward the implementation of the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act. These licensing authorities held hearings and accepted public comments regarding the proposed regulations during a 45-day public comment period, according to a press release.
However, in late June, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed into law, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act, which creates one regulatory system for both medicinal and adult-use cannabis. Because of that action, the licensing authorities will withdraw the proposed medical regulations and will instead move forward with one regulatory package for both medicinal and adult-use cannabis.
The three cannabis licensing authorities will develop emergency regulations based on the new law and will incorporate the robust and valuable public comment received on the proposed medical cannabis regulations. The summary of public comments, as well as the responses to those comments, received by each agency – either in writing or in person at one of the public comment forums hosted by the three agencies – can be viewed by clicking the links below:
Bureau of Cannabis Control:
http://bcc.ca.gov/law_regs/mcrsa_comments.pdf
http://bcc.ca.gov/law_regs/mcrsa_lab_comments.pdf
CA Department of Public Health
The licensing authorities will use the emergency rulemaking process for the new regulations. The emergency regulations are expected to be published in November. The implementation date for the issuance of commercial cannabis licenses remains the same: January 1, 2018.
For additional information about the three licensing authorities, or to learn about updates as they become available, please visit the state’s Cannabis Web Portal.
