Regulations For Recreational Pot Would Limit Potency, Restrict Access
HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — California marijuana dispensaries are preparing for regulations on recreational pot that will determine exactly how cannabis is grown, tested and sold.
Six months after voters legalized marijuana with Proposition 64, the state has released the first draft of regulations for the multibillion-dollar cannabis industry set to take effect Jan. 1.
Communities can enact stricter restrictions, but at a minimum, all cannabis businesses in the state would have to be more than 600 feet from schools, only be open between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. and ensure all products are sold in opaque, childproof packaging.
No free samples would be allowed, and products would have to be tested by a third-party, licensed lab for safety.
"We're finally going to regulate legal cannabis in California," said Daniel Yi , a spokesman for the cannabis company Medmen. He says all plants and products in the state will soon be tracked from seed to sale.
"Now we have to get into the hard work," Yi said. "We have to roll up the sleeves and figure out exactly how this is going to work out."
Another big change will be limits on potency.
The new rules would force companies to limit the THC in products to 100 milligrams per edible. That means chocolates containing a whopping 1,600 milligrams of THC could soon be outlawed.
For dispensary owners like Janice Hardoon, the regulations are welcome.
"Instead of guessing and calling your attorney ... It just makes it so much easier," said Hardoon, owner of Koreatown Collective.
Dispensaries would also not be allowed to sell more than 8 ounces of cannabis to a person in a single day.
The public has about a month to comment on the regulations.