Gavin Newsom proposes new rules for hemp products marketed at kids: ‘We want this regulated’
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is cracking down on consumable hemp products sold in grocery and convenience stores – without age restrictions – which can contain THC and other intoxicating cannabinoids.
Beverages and “gummies that are directly targeted to our kids” are “available everywhere” the governor said, including at his own local grocery store where they’re “literally mixed in with their LaCroix” and other bubbly waters.
State and federal law allow for the sale of non-intoxicating hemp products. But many of these products contain small amounts of intoxicating ingredients including THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis.
“It’s a disgrace and it’s a shame, and the industry bears full responsibility for not policing itself,” Newsom said.
Because the products don’t need to be sold in closely-regulated cannabis dispensaries, anyone can purchase them, regardless of age.
The governor first became aware of the loophole when his preteen son mentioned that friends were purchasing the products, he said at a press conference Friday.
“We want this regulated. We want these products off the shelf,” Newsom said, holding up a colorful packet of hemp gummies containing several of the compounds he aims to regulate.
“We want the retailers, the grocers, to get them off their shelves today. And we want parents who see something like this to walk right up to the cashier and say, ‘What the hell do you have this on your shelves for?’”
The proposed regulations announced Friday would require food, beverages, supplements and other industrial hemp products for consumption sold in California to have undetectable levels of THC.
They would also limit package and serving size, ban 30 different cannabinoid compounds from widely available hemp products and require that a person must be 21 years or older to purchase industrial hemp food, beverages and other consumables.
Once approved, the new regulations will be enforced by law enforcement, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Cannabis Control, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
According to the California Department of Public Health’s proposed rule, the cannabinoid compounds “can cause serious side effects including seizures, organ damage, hallucinations, paranoia, vomiting, agitation, and in extreme cases even death, all of which are signs of intoxication that has led to an increase in hospitalization, poisoning, and increased emergency department visits across California and nationwide, highlighting the urgent need for regulation.”
A congressional farm bill in 2018 allowed for the sale of industrial hemp products nationally and limited their THC content to 0.3%.
“None of us expected the kind of exploitation that we’ve experienced in the hemp industry since,” Newsom said.
In 2016, as lieutenant governor, Newsom helped spearhead the ballot measure that legalized recreational marijuana in California. In 2021 he signed legislation that imposed lighter regulations on hemp products, but did not include an age requirement.
The new regulations are being expedited under an emergency rulemaking procedure. The public can comment on the proposed rules until Wednesday by emailing staff@oal.ca.gov.
This story was originally published September 6, 2024 at 2:55 PM.
