On Friday, September 6th, Governor Newsom issued proposed emergency regulations from the California Department of Public Health that would require hemp food, beverage and dietary products to have no detectable intoxicating cannabinoids or THC per serving. The regulations also create a minimum age to purchase hemp products to age 21, as well as limit the number of servings of hemp products to five per package. Regulations could go into effect in as little as five days; retailers would then be required to remove noncompliant products from shelves and implement purchase restrictions. An earlier proposal to regulate intoxicating hemp made its way through the Legislature this session within Assembly Bill 2223 (Aguiar-Curry). The proposal was ultimately held in Senate Appropriations in August. The emergency regulations aim to address public health and safety concerns related to unregulated intoxicating hemp in the absence of legislative action. More information on the draft regulations can be found here.
