Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed emergency regulations aimed at curbing the manufacture and sale of illegal hemp products containing intoxicating cannabinoids like THC.
The new rules would close loopholes that manufacturers in the “intoxicating hemp” industry have exploited to circumvent restrictions on hemp products, allowing them to sell consumer goods with highly intoxicating effects, Newsom’s office said in a statement Friday morning.
In recent years, these products have become widely available at some tobacco shops, gas stations, and other retailers.
The regulations would require that such products contain no detectable levels of THC (the main psychoactive component of cannabis) or other cannabinoids, that product packages be limited to five servings, and that their sale be restricted to people 21 years of age or older.
“We are taking steps to close loopholes and increase enforcement to prevent children from accessing these dangerous hemp and cannabis products,” Newsom said in the statement.
Once the state Office of Administrative Law approves the regulations, they will go into effect immediately, after which sellers will be required to restrict purchases in accordance with the changes and remove non-compliant hemp products from their shelves.
State and local law enforcement agencies and state regulatory agencies, including the departments of Public Health, Cannabis Control, Alcoholic Beverage Control and Tax and Fee Administration, will immediately begin enforcing the new rules after they are approved, according to Newsom's statement.
The governor introduced the proposed regulations weeks after Assembly Bill 2223, a state bill that would have instituted similar changes, died in committee.
The new rules are a response “to increasing health incidents related to illegal hemp products, which state regulators have found to be sold throughout the state, especially beverage and food products. Children are at particular risk if they consume these products,” Newsom’s statement on Friday said.
In 2021, Newsom signed a state law limiting the concentration of THC in hemp-containing foods, beverages and cosmetics to 0.3%, and instituting requirements for labeling and testing of such products. The goal, his office said at the time, was to allow non-intoxicating hemp products to be sold legally and safely.
In the years since then, some manufacturers have found ways to make hemp products that intoxicate consumers without violating the 2021 requirements.
“We will not stand idly by as drug dealers target our children with dangerous, unregulated hemp products containing THC in our retail stores,” Newsom said in the statement.
