Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Let’s Be Blunt: Cannabis Consumers Need Protection
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 6 years ago on
August 2, 2019

Share

California boasts the strongest “lemon laws” in the country. Another law helps Californians make decisions about avoiding chemicals that could cause cancer or birth defects. A third law requires manufacturers of cleaning products to disclose ingredients.


Opinion
Ruben Honig
Special to CALmatters

Now the California Legislature should get serious about protecting cannabis consumers from potentially serious public safety and public health risks of the underground cannabis market. Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 97 giving state agencies an enforcement tool to impose civil fines for illegal commercial cannabis activity.
But we must take another step. Assembly Bill 1417 by Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio, a Baldwin Park Democrat, is pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee. Legislators should approve it when they return to Sacramento in August.
AB 1417 seeks to restrict advertising and marketing by unlicensed cannabis retailers. And it would establish civil penalties for entities that violate the law.
AB 1417 addresses a critical need in the legalized cannabis marketplace: ensuring consumers have safe and legal products.
Currently, an estimated 80% of the cannabis sold in California comes from the illicit market. Products from unlicensed business are not lab tested. As a result, they may contain toxic byproducts like heavy metals, pesticides, mold, mite infestations, or residual solvents that can cause serious harm to consumers.

This Confusion Makes It More Difficult for Consumers

By contrast, California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control regulates labs that test legally grown cannabis products sold by licensed operators to screen out harmful chemicals, pesticides and other contaminants.
The challenge confronting consumers is that they cannot trust that they are using safe products unless they purchase the products from a licensed retailer, and the current state of cannabis advertising exacerbates the confusion.
Some third-party advertisers in California, as well as apps, allow and encourage cannabis ads whether or not the business is licensed.
Some platforms that direct consumers to local cannabis dispensaries and delivery services — notably, Leafly — have announced they will only allow advertisements of licensed businesses in California.
But others including Weedmaps refuse to voluntarily comply with the directive of the Bureau to cease advertising for unlicensed cannabis retailers including brick-and-mortar and delivery. Not surprisingly, Weedmaps opposes AB 1417.
This confusion makes it more difficult for consumers to differentiate between businesses that are licensed and thus sell product that doesn’t include toxins, and those that are not licensed. That’s why AB 1417 is so important.

There Is Precedent for This Bill

Backers of AB 1417, including the United Food and Commercial Workers, note that there is precedent for this bill:

  • California does not allow a liquor store to sell untested, adulterated alcohol or tobacco products.
  • The state has strict rules on the sale of alcohol and tobacco.
  • California does not allow the proliferation of illegal advertisements for unlicensed alcohol and tobacco sales.

My organization, the United Cannabis Business Association, believes it is patently unfair for any business to generate revenue from the public without following the laws that other community businesses must adhere to.
When operators become licensed, they can begin advertising again, with local and state governments receiving revenue that are put toward social services and into community reinvestment.
The Bureau of Cannabis Control has launched a new campaign called, “Get #weedwise,” which encourages retailers to get licensed or cease operation. The campaign also seeks to educate consumers about the differences between licensed and unlicensed operators.
Included in that campaign is a new resource, CApotcheck.com, where consumers and advertising platforms, including Weedmaps, can easily search and verify for California state-licensed cannabis businesses by address, including retail, delivery, distributors, testing laboratories, and more.
To keep California’s consumer legacy moving forward, we urge the California Senate to approve Assembly Bill 1417, and Gov. Newsom to sign it into law. It will be an important step toward keeping consumers safer, ensuring a level business playing field, and helping California to Get #weedwise
About the Author 
Ruben Honig is executive director of the United Cannabis Business Association in Los Angeles and Sacramento. He can be reached at ruben@ucba.com. He wrote this commentary for CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s Capitol works and why it matters.
[activecampaign form=19]

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

World’s Largest Almond Processor Will Shutter Sacramento Plant. 600 Workers Impacted

DON'T MISS

Trump Eyes Major Funding Cuts for California, Including All Public Universities

DON'T MISS

Farming Regulation Costs Rise 1,300% Since 2006: Cal Poly

DON'T MISS

Southern California Air Regulators Weigh a Plan to Phase Out Gas Furnaces and Water Heaters

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Allows DOGE Broad Access to Social Security Data

DON'T MISS

Doctors Were Preparing to Remove Their Organs. Then They Woke Up.

DON'T MISS

Abrego Garcia Is Returned to US From El Salvador

DON'T MISS

Proud Boys Convicted in Jan. 6 Attack Sue Government on Claims of ‘Political Persecution’

DON'T MISS

FDA’s AI Assistant ‘Elsa’ Fails Its First Day on the Job

DON'T MISS

Documentary Series Goes Inside Trump’s Bubble

UP NEXT

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

UP NEXT

California’s Economy Is Just Limping Along. Why Is Newsom Always Boasting?

UP NEXT

Really, Secretary Rubio? I’m Lying About the Kids Dying Under Trump?

UP NEXT

After Years of Undrinkable Water, Our Rural California Community Finally Has Hope

UP NEXT

Why Trump Is Mad at ‘Sleazebag’ Leonard Leo

UP NEXT

Newsom Tussles With Local Officials Over Homelessness

UP NEXT

California’s War Over Charter Schools Rages On in Court

UP NEXT

Why Did the California Senate Shunt a Cost-Cutting Housing Bill?

UP NEXT

Fresno’s Crime Beat Didn’t Prepare Me for What I Saw on a Ride Along

UP NEXT

The MAGA Revolution Threatens America’s Most Innovative Place

Southern California Air Regulators Weigh a Plan to Phase Out Gas Furnaces and Water Heaters

17 hours ago

US Supreme Court Allows DOGE Broad Access to Social Security Data

17 hours ago

Doctors Were Preparing to Remove Their Organs. Then They Woke Up.

18 hours ago

Abrego Garcia Is Returned to US From El Salvador

18 hours ago

Proud Boys Convicted in Jan. 6 Attack Sue Government on Claims of ‘Political Persecution’

18 hours ago

FDA’s AI Assistant ‘Elsa’ Fails Its First Day on the Job

18 hours ago

Documentary Series Goes Inside Trump’s Bubble

19 hours ago

Tulare County Gang Member Convicted of Trying to a Murder Police Officer

19 hours ago

Newsom Promises Funding to Jump-Start ‘Science of Reading’

19 hours ago

Feds Indict SoCal Hospice CEO for Medicare Fraud in Fresno and Kern Counties

20 hours ago

World’s Largest Almond Processor Will Shutter Sacramento Plant. 600 Workers Impacted

The world’s largest almond processor, Blue Diamond Growers, says it will close its Sacramento processing plant this year The almond co...

16 hours ago

16 hours ago

World’s Largest Almond Processor Will Shutter Sacramento Plant. 600 Workers Impacted

17 hours ago

Trump Eyes Major Funding Cuts for California, Including All Public Universities

17 hours ago

Farming Regulation Costs Rise 1,300% Since 2006: Cal Poly

18 hours ago

Southern California Air Regulators Weigh a Plan to Phase Out Gas Furnaces and Water Heaters

18 hours ago

US Supreme Court Allows DOGE Broad Access to Social Security Data

19 hours ago

Doctors Were Preparing to Remove Their Organs. Then They Woke Up.

19 hours ago

Abrego Garcia Is Returned to US From El Salvador

19 hours ago

Proud Boys Convicted in Jan. 6 Attack Sue Government on Claims of ‘Political Persecution’

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

Search

Send this to a friend