Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued proposed emergency regulations “to protect youth from the adverse health effects of dangerous hemp products”, according to a press release.
Hemp gummies.
The regulations, proposed by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), “strengthen California’s ability to stop the peddling of intoxicating hemp products to California’s children”, states the governor’s office “The new regulations require that industrial hemp food, beverage, and dietary products intended for human consumption have no detectable THC or other intoxicating cannabinoids per serving, create a minimum age to purchase hemp products to 21, and limit the number of servings of hemp products to five per package.
Governor Newsom said “We will not sit on our hands as drug peddlers target our children with dangerous and unregulated hemp products containing THC at our retail stores. We’re taking action to close loopholes and increase enforcement to prevent children from accessing these dangerous hemp and cannabis products.”
The emergency regulations “respond to increasing health incidents related to intoxicating hemp products, which state regulators have found sold across the state, especially beverages and food products.”
The press release says “Children are particularly at risk should they consume these products. Studies show that use of these products can negatively impact cognitive functions, memory, and decision-making abilities in developing brains.”
California became the first state to allow medicinal cannabis use when voters passed the Compassionate Use Act in 1996, and then in 2016, voters legalized the recreational use of cannabis. California’s cannabis industry is strictly regulated to ensure that businesses operate safely, products are labeled and tested to be free of contaminants, and that children are prevented from accessing cannabis products.
The governor’s office says “However, without stronger laws and regulations, hemp manufacturers can skirt the law to produce and market hemp products that contain THC. The new regulations ban any detectable quantity of THC from consumable hemp products such as beverages, food, and dietary products to protect youth and mitigate the risk of adverse health effects.”
The emergency regulations “will also bring the sale of hemp products more in line with restrictions currently seen in the California legal cannabis market by limiting serving and package size and establishing a minimum age of 21 to legally purchase industrial hemp food, beverage and dietary products.”
These regulations will take effect immediately upon approval by the Office of Administrative Law. Sellers must begin to implement purchase restrictions and remove consumable hemp products containing any levels of detectable THC from shelves. State regulators, including the Department of Public Health, the Department of Cannabis Control, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), and state and local law enforcement officials, will begin immediate enforcement action.
