California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that strengthens laws on cannabis packaging, labeling, advertising and marketing that may appeal to children.
The bill provides clearer benchmarks for regulators to identify cannabis packaging, labeling, advertising and marketing that are attractive to young people, including cartoons and other imagery associated with children’s entertainment, candy and sweets, and products that mimic the appearance of non-cannabis goods primarily marketed to children.
The legislation also restricts cartoon or overly stylized fruit imagery on edible cannabis and vape cartridge labeling while preserving realistic fruit imagery used to accurately describe ingredients or where a product was produced.
The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) said it will develop resources to help licensees evaluate their products for compliance, including education materials, examples and guidance.
“The recent audit completed by the State Auditor confirmed what many have long recognized: California’s cannabis industry continues to package and market products in ways which are overtly attractive to children,” said Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin in a statement. “Since the passage of Proposition 64, child cannabis poisonings have increased dramatically. These exposures are often driven by cannabis product packaging that uses features which are explicitly attractive to children, leading children to consume the products unintentionally. Young children who accidentally consume cannabis require poison control treatment consistently, and in many cases, they can also expose their fellow elementary and middle school peers to cannabis. AB 2249 acts on recommendations from the auditor to clarify and strengthen California’s standards for what constitutes cannabis packaging that is attractive to children.”
Newsom this week also highlighted his state's crackdown on illegal hemp products and tax revenue raised by the legal cannabis market since launch.
California’s enforcement efforts have removed 7,403 illegal hemp products and 7,888 prohibited kratom and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) products from store shelves, with compliance reaching 99.33% for hemp and 97.75% for kratom and 7-OH among Alcoholic Beverage Control licensees.
On the other side, legal cannabis sales have generated nearly $8.4 billion in tax revenue, including nearly $4.5 billion in cannabis excise tax and nearly $3.4 billion in sales tax.
