California cannabis legalization: Recreational cannabis was legalized in the state of California on January 1st of this year, and since then, the cannabis industry has been growing rapidly.
The US and state government gave the California shop owners and cannabis distributors six months to become compliant with government and state regulations - but it seems that 'grace' period is now up. Starting July 1st, all of the regulations that were decided at the end of last year will now be strictly enforced.
California Cannabis Legalization Rules
Licensed retailers will no longer be able to sell untested cannabis goods. These retailers are also not allowed to package and label their own goods anymore. The government is also now regulating the amount of TCH that is in each package of cannabis products sold.
It's surprising that this wasn't enforced from the start, but the government did give six months to get operations in compliance.
Aaron Francis, a California Bureau of Cannabis Control employee, told High Times:
"Non-edible cannabis goods cannot contain more than 1,000 milligrams of THC per package if intended for the adult-use market and 2,000 milligrams of THC per package if intended for the medicinal market."
No doubt, smaller businesses will take a hit - as they can no longer save money on packaging and branding. Many of the smaller cannabis businesses around the state have been pooling resources in order to come into compliance with the county, state, and government rules.
Big Winners and Losers
'Weeding' out the smaller players within the industry will mean fewer products for consumers after July 1st.
"The people who have been on the forefront, who have risked the most, are not the ones equipped in the new marketplace," Habib Bantaleb said in his Canna Law Blog.
Some of the smaller retailers will most likely take the biggest hit, as they will need to outsource a lot of their operations now. However, businesses like packagers and branders will grow exponentially.
With this new regulation shift, the state of California may start to see more unlicensed shops popping up in rebellion and an increase in black market goods.
Featured Image: covercannabis.com
