2021 California Cannabis Laws and Regulations
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About this ebook
In this book, updated for 2021, you'll find:
- A carefully curated compendium designed to give the reader a deep understanding of the laws and regulations which govern cannabis and hemp in California
- A Table of Contents with detailed section descriptors
- Charts of California cannabis license types
- A ha
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2021 California Cannabis Laws and Regulations - Omar Figueroa
California Cannabis Laws and Regulations
©2021 Omar Figueroa, All rights reserved.
ISBN 978-0-9984215-7-5
eISBN 978-0-9984215-8-2
Disclaimer
This publication has been created to provide you with accurate and authoritative information concerning California cannabis and hemp laws and regulations. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or other professional services. This publication is not a substitute for legal advice of an attorney. If you require legal or other expert advice, you should seek the services of a competent attorney or other professional.
The law is ever changing and sometimes errors happen even with careful attention to detail. If you find any errors, please email us the details at book@omarfigueroa.com with the phrase Book Error: Confidential
in the subject line. Although this publication is designed to aid in the research and practice of cannabis law, it is recommended that you cross check the California Legislature website for any change in the law. The URL for the Legislature’s website is:
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes.xhtml
Because California’s cannabis and hemp regulations are also evolving, please check for the latest regulatory updates at the California Cannabis Portal and the CDFA’s Industrial Hemp Program webpage:
http://cannabis.ca.gov and http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/industrialhemp/
Also, please keep yourself informed by purchasing the most up-to-date edition of this publication as it comes available.
Colophon
Author: Omar Figueroa, Esq.
Legal and Research Assistant: Tina S. Smith, J.D.
Text Design: Jocelyn Bergen
Cover Design: Ophelia Chong
Cover Image: Vivian Shih
Typeface: PT Serif
Published by Lux Law Publishing
Preface
California cannabis law has greatly evolved in the past few years. After California voters legalized
cannabis for adults ages 21 and older with the passage of Proposition 64 in 2016, the Legislature merged adult use and medical cannabis laws to create the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) in 2017. The MAUCRSA regulatory framework created three regulatory agencies for different parts of the cannabis supply chain, and these agencies promulgated emergency regulations as an initial step in the regulatory rulemaking process. The process included public hearings, public comment, and review by the Office of Administrative Law. The final permanent regulations took effect in 2019. At the time, the regulatory framework felt settled and stable. Nevertheless, the heavily regulated cannabis market in California had numerous difficulties competing with the laissez faire duty-free
market. Tax revenues fell far short of projections. In early 2020, Governor Newsom announced a proposal to simplify licensing and regulatory oversight by consolidating the three regulatory agencies into a new Department of Cannabis Control. The proposed timeframe was ambitious: by July 2021. Such a proposal would require amending the MAUCRSA regulatory framework and restarting the regulatory rulemaking process.
The COVID-19 global pandemic disrupted these plans for regulatory unification. In the end, the cannabis industry emerged stronger after it was deemed essential by the Governor, meaning licensed cannabis businesses were allowed to remain open when many other types of businesses were not. Notably, regulatory agencies were open to regulatory innovations, and allowed curbside pickup for storefront retailers and contactless delivery for retailers engaged in deliveries.
This book fulfills a need for a carefully curated compendium designed to give the reader a deep understanding of California’s laws and regulations relating to cannabis and hemp, updated for 2021. The relevant statutory law can be easily found with the annotated table of contents, with detailed section descriptors summarizing each code section. Similarly, the numerous regulations set forth in the California Code of Regulations are organized by Title. Finally, a handy Index makes it easy to pinpoint germane laws and regulations.
Why is such a book necessary in this day of free online access to California’s codes and regulations? Because MAUCRSA did not create a legal tabula rasa by repealing all former cannabis laws and establishing a new legal order. Instead, MAUCRSA changed and augmented existing laws, making California cannabis laws even more byzantine than before.
It was not always this way. Cannabis was legal in California until 1913, when the Poison Act was amended to outlaw narcotic preparations of hemp or loco-weed.
(At that point, it was legal under federal law.) In the 1950’s, possession was escalated to a felony with mandatory incarceration. The madness continued until 1976, when the Legislature decriminalized possession of small quantities of marijuana with the Moscone Act. Nevertheless, the cultivation of a single plant, and the sale or possession for sale of any amount, remained non-reducible felonies under California law for decades.
On November 5, 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act (CUA), making California the first state in the United States to legalize the possession and cultivation of medical cannabis by patients and primary caregivers. For the first time in nearly a century, patients were allowed to use medical cannabis for the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief.
Proposition 215 remains in effect and can be found at Health & Safety Code Section 11362.5.
Senate Bill 420 was passed in 2003, and became effective on January 1, 2004, establishing a voluntary program for the issuance of official identification cards to qualified medical cannabis patients and caregivers. SB 420 also purported to establish default limits of no more than eight ounces of dried processed flowers per qualified patient and no more than six mature or 12 immature marijuana plants per qualified patient; these limits
were subsequently struck down by the California Supreme Court as unconstitutional legislative amendments to Proposition 215, to the extent that they burden an accused’s defense. SB 420 also established a medical defense for qualified patients and caregivers who associate in order collectively or cooperatively to cultivate cannabis for medical purposes.
The era of collectives and cooperatives was born and lasted for approximately fifteen years, until January 9, 2019, when Health and Safety Code Section 11362.775 was repealed. The Legislature took away in 2019 what it had given in 2004.
In 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 1449, which reclassified possession of up to 28.5 grams of marijuana from a no jail misdemeanor punishable by a $100 maximum fine, to an infraction with the same lenient penalties, but without the right to a jury trial afforded to misdemeanor defendants by the California Constitution. This helped defeat Proposition 19, the first adult legalization initiative to get on the ballot in the new millennium, in 2010.
The Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (with the unfortunate acronym MMRSA, which sounds just like the acronym for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) was passed on September 11, 2015, and went into effect on January 1, 2016. It first consisted of three bills: SB 643, AB 266, and AB 243. They established a new regulatory agency, the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation (BMMR, pronounced bummer
), created a regulatory framework with a dual licensing system requiring local permits and state licenses, and added a sunset clause to the collective and cooperative statute, Health and Safety Code Section 11362.775. Within the next year, more legislation was added, which resulted in numerous changes including a renamed Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA) and Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation (BMCR).
On November 8, 2016, the California voters approved the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), which officially went into effect the next day. AUMA partially legalized marijuana under state law by adults 21 and older, allowing adults to legally grow, possess, and use small quantities of marijuana for non-medical purposes. It also reduced the severity of, and penalties for, many cannabis-related offenses, and established a regulatory framework for non-medical adult-use cannabis similar to the MCRSA framework.
Subsequently, the laws governing medical and recreational cannabis were merged together by the Legislature to create the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety act (MAUCRSA). MAUCRSA set forth a comprehensive regulatory framework with different license types overseen by different regulatory agencies. First, cultivation activities are licensed and regulated by Cal Cannabis Cultivation Licensing within the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Second, manufacturing is licensed and regulated by the Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch within the Department of Public Health. Finally, distribution, laboratory testing, retail (both storefront and delivery-only), microbusinesses, and cannabis events are overseen by the Bureau of Cannabis Control within the Department of Consumer Affairs.
These agencies promulgated emergency regulations which became effective on January 1, 2018, and evolved over time, until the final permanent regulations were approved by the Office of Administrative Law on January 16, 2019. 2019 was the second year of the regulated cannabis market. The regulated market struggled to compete with a legacy market unburdened by regulations, taxes, and restrictive local permitting. Tax revenues fell far short of projections.
On January 10, 2020, Governor Newsom announced a proposal to simplify licensing and regulatory oversight by consolidating the three regulatory agencies into a new Department of Cannabis Control, by July 2021. Such a proposal would require amending the MAUCRSA regulatory framework and restarting the regulatory rulemaking process, similar to 2017, when the regulatory frameworks established by MCRSA and Proposition 64 were consolidated into MAUCRSA, and the regulatory rulemaking process that had almost been completed with respect to medical cannabis had to be restarted in order to harmonize medicinal and adult-use regulations.
The Governor’s Trailer Bill, released in early 2021, would establish a Department of Cannabis Control alongside the existing Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. The language anticipates that the Department of Cannabis Control will initially adopt (and readopt) emergency regulations, and states that such adoption and readoption shall be deemed necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or general welfare
pursuant to Section 26013 of the Business and Professions Code.
In order to provide a comprehensive research resource, this edition includes numerous regulations applicable to cannabis as well as the latest available version of California’s hemp regulations. These selected regulations cover lake and streambed alterations for cannabis cultivation, cannabis tax, the use of natural water resources for cultivation, the waste discharge requirements, and the state’s water quality policies on cannabis cultivation. There are also newly-approved emergency regulations to enable regulators to share licensee application and regulatory information with financial institutions pursuant to Section 26260 of the Business and Professions Code as established by Assembly Bill 1525.
New regulations have also been proposed with respect to cannabis appellations and the OCal comparable-to-organic certification. The proposed regulations have been added as Part 3 of the text to keep the book as current as possible without delaying publication.
The goal of this publication is to provide a carefully curated compendium designed to give the reader a deep understanding of California’s laws and regulations relating to cannabis and hemp, updated for 2021. It is a user-friendly guide that can be used by operators, professionals, and regulators. We hope you find California Cannabis Laws and Regulations to be an indispensable tool in your library.
Because California law is rapidly evolving, we suggest that readers check for the latest changes, amendments, and updates at the California Legislature’s web site:
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes.xhtml
California’s cannabis and hemp regulations are also evolving, so please check for the latest regulatory updates at the California Cannabis Portal and the CDFA’s Industrial Hemp Program webpage:
http://cannabis.ca.gov and http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/industrialhemp/
A Word About Legal Taxonomy
In order to get the most out of this resource, it’s helpful to know the legal classification of California’s laws. The California Codes are 29 legal codes enacted by the California State Legislature, which together form the general statutory law of California. The California Codes are organized by subject matter, such as the Business and Professions Code, the Health and Safety Code, and the Vehicle Code. Codes are divided into Titles,
which are numbered and cover a broad area of law within that subject matter. Titles are further broken down into numbered Divisions
which cover a narrow area of law within that Title. Divisions are broken down into Parts,
followed by Chapters,
then Articles,
and finally into individual Sections.
A law is most typically referred to in the California Courts by its Code name and Section number (for example, Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5).
Changes to the 2021 Edition
PART 1: LAW CHANGES
PART 2: REGULATION CHANGES
PART 3: REGULATIONS PROPOSED AT TIME OF PUBLICATION
Contents at a Glance
PART 1: LAWS
I. Business and Professions Code Sections
II. Civil Code Sections
III. Education Code Sections
IV. Evidence Code Sections
V. Fish and Game Code Sections
VI. Food and Agricultural Code Sections
VII. Government Code Sections
VIII. Health and Safety Code Sections
IX. Labor Code Sections
X. Penal Code Sections
XI. Revenue and Taxation Code Sections
XII. Vehicle Code Sections
XIII. Water Code Sections
PART 2: REGULATIONS
Title 3. Food and Agriculture
Division 4. Plant Industry
Chapter 8. Industrial Hemp Cultivation
Division 8. Cannabis Cultivation
Chapter 1. Cannabis Cultivation Program
Title 14. Natural Resources
Division 1. Fish and Game Commission - Department of Fish and Game
Subdivision 3. General Regulations
Chapter 3. Miscellaneous
Title 16. Professional and Vocational Regulations
Division 42. Bureau of Cannabis Control
Division 43. Cannabis Control Appeals Panel
Title 17. Public Health
Division 1. State Department of Health Services
Chapter 13. Manufactured Cannabis Safety
Title 18. Public Revenues
Division 2. California Department of Tax and Fee Administration - Business Taxes
Chapter 8.7. Cannabis Tax Regulations
Title 23. Waters
Division 3. State Water Resources Control Board and Regional Water Quality Control Boards
Chapter 5. Fees
Chapter 9. Waste Discharge Reports and Requirements
Chapter 22. State Policy for Water Quality Control
PART 3: REGULATIONS PROPOSED AT TIME OF PUBLICATION
PART 4: CHARTS OF CALIFORNIA CANNABIS LICENSE TYPES
INDEX
Table of Contents
Part 1: Laws
I. Business and Professions Code Sections
DIVISION 6. BUSINESS RIGHTS
Chapter 3. Trade Names and Designations
ARTICLE 3. FARM NAMES
DIVISION 9. ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
MEDICINAL AND ADULT-USE CANNABIS REGULATION AND SAFETY ACT
DIVISION 10. CANNABIS
Chapter 1. General Provisions and Definitions
Chapter 2. Administration
Chapter 3. Enforcement
Chapter 4. Appeals
Chapter 5. Licensing
Chapter 6. Licensed Cultivation Sites
Chapter 6.5. Unique Identifiers and Track and Trace
Chapter 7. Retailers and Distributors
Chapter 8. Distribution and Transport
Chapter 9. Delivery
Chapter 10. Testing Laboratories
Chapter 11. Quality Assurance, Inspection, and Testing
Chapter 12. Packaging and Labeling
Chapter 13. Manufacturers and Cannabis Products
Chapter 14. Protection of Minors
Chapter 15. Advertising and Marketing Restrictions
Chapter 16. Records
Chapter 18. License Fees
Chapter 19. Annual Reports; Performance Audit
Chapter 20. Local Control
Chapter 21. Funding
Chapter 22. Cannabis Cooperative Associations
ARTICLE 1. DEFINITIONS
ARTICLE 2. GENERAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 3. PURPOSES
ARTICLE 4. ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
ARTICLE 5. BYLAWS
ARTICLE 6. DIRECTORS AND MANAGEMENT
ARTICLE 7. POWERS
ARTICLE 8. FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 9. MEMBERS
ARTICLE 10. MARKETING CONTRACTS
ARTICLE 11. REORGANIZATION OF CORPORATIONS ORGANIZED PURSUANT TO OTHER LAWS
Chapter 23. The California Cannabis Equity Act
Chapter 24. Information Sharing with Financial Institutions
II. Civil Code Sections
III. Education Code Sections
IV. Evidence Code Sections
V. Fish and Game Code Sections
VI. Food and Agricultural Code Sections
DIVISION 20. PROCESSORS, STORES, DEALERS, AND DISTRIBUTORS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
Chapter 6. Processors of Farm Products
ARTICLE 9. PRODUCER’S LIEN
DIVISION 24. INDUSTRIAL HEMP
VII. Government Code Sections
VIII. Health and Safety Code Sections
IX. Labor Code Sections
X. Penal Code Sections
XI. Revenue and Taxation Code Sections
XII. Vehicle Code Sections
XIII. Water Code Sections
Table of Contents
Part 2: Regulations
Title 3. Food and Agriculture
DIVISION 4. PLANT INDUSTRY
Chapter 8. Industrial Hemp Cultivation
ARTICLE 1. REGISTRATION OF INDUSTRIAL HEMP GROWERS
ARTICLE 2. REGULATIONS FOR INDUSTRIAL HEMP CULTIVATION
ARTICLE 3. ABATEMENT AND ENFORCEMENT
DIVISION 8. CANNABIS CULTIVATION
Chapter 1.Cannabis Cultivation Program
ARTICLE 1. DEFINITIONS
ARTICLE 2. APPLICATIONS
ARTICLE 3. CULTIVATION LICENSE FEES AND REQUIREMENTS
ARTICLE 4. CULTIVATION SITE REQUIREMENTS
ARTICLE 5. RECORDS AND REPORTING
ARTICLE 6. INSPECTIONS, INVESTIGATIONS, AND AUDITS
ARTICLE 7. ENFORCEMENT
Title 14. Natural Resources
DIVISION 1. FISH AND GAME COMMISSION DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME
SUBDIVISION 3. GENERAL REGULATIONS
Chapter 3. Miscellaneous
Title 16. Professional and Vocational Regulations
DIVISION 42. BUREAU OF CANNABIS CONTROL
Chapter 1. All Bureau Licensees
ARTICLE 1. DIVISION DEFINITIONS
ARTICLE 2. APPLICATIONS
ARTICLE 3. LICENSING
ARTICLE 4. POSTING AND ADVERTISING
ARTICLE 5. SECURITY MEASURES.
ARTICLE 6. TRACK AND TRACE REQUIREMENTS
ARTICLE 7. RETURNS AND DESTRUCTION
Chapter 2. Distributors