Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

A First Look at Fresno State’s Quarterback Battle

17 hours ago

Israeli Columnist Alleges Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Gaza

18 hours ago

Tesla to Roll out Bay Area Robotaxis With Safety Drivers, Report Says

19 hours ago

Thailand and Cambodia Exchange Heavy Artillery Fire as Border Battle Expands

20 hours ago

California Cannot Require Background Checks to Buy Ammunition, US Appeals Court Rules

2 days ago

TikTok Will Go Dark in US Without Chinese Approval of Sale Deal, Lutnick Says

2 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Still Searching for Missing Mother and Infant

2 days ago
'What's in Your Weed?' California to Push Pot Users to Go Legal
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
June 21, 2019

Share

LOS ANGELES — Marijuana shoppers are going to be getting a message from California regulators: Go legal.

“[The campaign] will directly impact consumer safety by clarifying that only cannabis purchased from licensed retailers has met the state’s safety standards.” — Bureau of Cannabis Control Chief Lori Ajax
Aiming to slow illegal pot sales that are undercutting the nation’s largest licensed market, California is kicking off a public information campaign — Get #weedwise — that encourages consumers to verify their purchases are tested and legal.
Ads will be hitting social media sites and billboards promoting a state website where shoppers can quickly check if a shop is licensed — CApotcheck.com.
The advertising campaign makes a simple argument: You don’t know what you’re getting if you buy illegal products.
One ad warns, “What’s in your weed shouldn’t be a mystery. Shop licensed cannabis retailers only.”
The new push in the fight against illegal cannabis sales will be formally announced Friday at a Los Angeles forum featuring industry leaders, regulators and elected officials.
The campaign “will directly impact consumer safety by clarifying that only cannabis purchased from licensed retailers has met the state’s safety standards,” Bureau of Cannabis Control Chief Lori Ajax said in a statement.
The ads are also intended to telegraph a warning to illicit shops and underground growers: Get licensed to operate in the legal market, or shut down.
 

A Trade-off for Saving a Buck

California kicked off broad legal sales Jan. 1, 2018. But the illegal market has continued to thrive, in part because consumers can avoid steep tax rates by buying in unlicensed dispensaries.
But there’s a trade-off for saving a buck. Illegal products have not met strict state testing standards and could be tainted by mold, pesticides, heavy metals — even human waste.

The state has been under pressure by the legal industry to do more to stop illegal sales. By some estimates, Los Angeles has hundreds of illegal shops and cultivation sites.
“Do you know what’s hiding in your counterfeit edibles?” one ad asks. “Shop licensed cannabis retailers only.”
Agency spokesman Alex Traverso said the ads are part of a three-pronged campaign to eventually corral illegal sales — the others are enforcement, including shutting down illegal shops and farms, and quickly licensing businesses that want to enter the legal economy.
The state is spending an initial $1.7 million on the campaign and hopes to “get it in front of as many eyeballs as possible,” Traverso said.
The state has been under pressure by the legal industry to do more to stop illegal sales. By some estimates, Los Angeles has hundreds of illegal shops and cultivation sites.
No one is predicting the campaign will bring illicit sales to a halt, but it’s being seen as another step to aid legal businesses as the state transitions from what was once a largely illegal economy into a multibillion-dollar, regulated marketplace.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Tulare Officer Injured in Crash While Trying to Save Unresponsive Infant. Child Dies at Hospital

DON'T MISS

PBS Has a Future by Leaving the Past Behind: Opinion

DON'T MISS

Fresno Council Candidate Rassamni Says City Is Investigating Him Amid Allegations by Arias

DON'T MISS

Fresno First Responders Talk Person Down off Parking Garage Ledge

DON'T MISS

Oregon Schools Face Federal Probe Over Transgender Athletes

DON'T MISS

US Judge Reaffirms Nationwide Injunction Blocking Trump Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship

DON'T MISS

White House Will Release $5.5 Billion for Schools, After Surprise Delay

DON'T MISS

Kern County Fire Issues Evacuation Warnings for Pearl Fire Near Lake Isabella

DON'T MISS

Gaza Running out of Specialized Food to Save Malnourished Children

DON'T MISS

New Madera Bypass Project Aims to Ease Traffic on Highway 41 Near Tesoro Viejo

UP NEXT

Tesla to Roll out Bay Area Robotaxis With Safety Drivers, Report Says

UP NEXT

California Political Lobbying Firm Agrees to Settle Federal Fraud Allegations

UP NEXT

California Cannot Require Background Checks to Buy Ammunition, US Appeals Court Rules

UP NEXT

Video-Sharing App Vine Is Returning ‘in AI Form’, Musk Says

UP NEXT

CBS News Taps Tanya Simon as New Boss of ’60 Minutes’ After Trump Lawsuit

UP NEXT

US Republicans Continue Push to Override California Animal Welfare Law

UP NEXT

Doctor Pleads Guilty to Supplying Ketamine to ‘Friends’ Star Matthew Perry

UP NEXT

US Olympic Officials Bar Transgender Women From Women’s Competitions

UP NEXT

Trump Admin Releases After-School Grant Money, but There’s a Catch

UP NEXT

US Appeals Court Will Not Lift Limits on Associated Press Access to White House

Fresno First Responders Talk Person Down off Parking Garage Ledge

13 hours ago

Oregon Schools Face Federal Probe Over Transgender Athletes

14 hours ago

US Judge Reaffirms Nationwide Injunction Blocking Trump Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship

14 hours ago

White House Will Release $5.5 Billion for Schools, After Surprise Delay

15 hours ago

Kern County Fire Issues Evacuation Warnings for Pearl Fire Near Lake Isabella

15 hours ago

Gaza Running out of Specialized Food to Save Malnourished Children

16 hours ago

New Madera Bypass Project Aims to Ease Traffic on Highway 41 Near Tesoro Viejo

17 hours ago

Key Player in California’s Water Wars Embraces Controversial Newsom Plan

17 hours ago

A First Look at Fresno State’s Quarterback Battle

17 hours ago

Israeli Columnist Alleges Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Gaza

18 hours ago

Tulare Officer Injured in Crash While Trying to Save Unresponsive Infant. Child Dies at Hospital

A Tulare police officer was injured in a traffic collision Friday while responding to a medical emergency involving an unresponsive infant, ...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

Tulare Officer Injured in Crash While Trying to Save Unresponsive Infant. Child Dies at Hospital

Signs supporting NPR outside its headquarters in Washington on March 26, 2025. The Trump administration has accused NPR and PBS of using public funds to produce biased coverage and “left-wing propaganda.” (Eric Lee/The New York Times)
13 hours ago

PBS Has a Future by Leaving the Past Behind: Opinion

AJ Rassamni and Miguel Arias blackstone
13 hours ago

Fresno Council Candidate Rassamni Says City Is Investigating Him Amid Allegations by Arias

Fresno first responders spent over two hours safely rescuing a person in crisis from the edge of a downtown parking garage Friday, July 25, 2025,morning. (Fresno FD)
13 hours ago

Fresno First Responders Talk Person Down off Parking Garage Ledge

United States Department of Education logo and U.S. flag are seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Oregon Schools Face Federal Probe Over Transgender Athletes

President Donald Trump speaks to the media, after the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to the power of federal judges by restricting their ability to grant broad legal relief in cases as the justices acted in a legal fight over President Donald Trump's bid to limit birthright citizenship, in the Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington D.C., June 27, 2025. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

US Judge Reaffirms Nationwide Injunction Blocking Trump Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship

Students head to the buses at the end of the day at a high school in Cedar Hill, Mo., on Sept. 14, 2022. The White House will release $5.5 billion in frozen education funds, administration officials announced on Friday, July 25, bringing an end to a chaotic saga of the administration’s making, which had sent school districts scrambling with weeks to go before the school year. (Whitney Curtis/The New York Times)
15 hours ago

White House Will Release $5.5 Billion for Schools, After Surprise Delay

Kern County fire officials have issued evacuation warnings for two zones near Lake Isabella as the Pearl Fire threatens the area. (Kern County FD)
15 hours ago

Kern County Fire Issues Evacuation Warnings for Pearl Fire Near Lake Isabella

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend