As she checked ID cards at the front counter of MedMen on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles the other night, the woman at the front desk nodded toward the back of the store.
“We’re having a sale,” she said. “Seventy percent off.”
Closing time was just fifteen minutes away, but the place was packed, as customers sifted through bins of discounted products, then lined up to pay before the cash registers shut for the night promptly at 7:45 pm.
Someone asked, “Is there anything wrong with this stuff?”
“Nothing,” said a clerk, shaking his head. “July 1st is coming.”
The First of July
For anyone in the business of cannabis in California, July 1st means a new era of regulations is dawning. When the veil was lifted allowing legalized recreational marijuana in California six months ago, it came with a price: Strict rules governing the testing, packaging, and labeling of products. The grace period to comply runs out on June 30th.
According to Aaron Francis of the state’s Bureau of Cannabis Control, licensed retailers will no longer be able to sell untested cannabis goods, nor will they be able to package and label cannabis goods. In addition, “Non-edible cannabis goods cannot contain more than 1,000 milligrams of THC per package if intended for the adult-use market and 2,000 milligrams of THC per package if intended for the medicinal market,” he said.
Tamper-proof packaging and more prominent wording on the labels will also be required.
Navigating a murky matrix of regulations that vary county to county, while also adhering to state rules, makes it complicated for those navigating the industry — most of whom are smaller businesses. So said Karin Clarke, who leads compliance training through Cannabis