Pot Vendors Scramble to Unload Inventory Before New Rules Take Effect
LOS ANGELES (KPIX 5) -- At dispensaries across California, cannabis consumers like Markeena Lee are stocking up on products while they can.
"It's not something that I like but it is something that is happening, so we just have to go with the flow," Lee said.
All retailers have until July 1 to get rid of any marijuana products that do not meet state regulations. Packaging will have to show how potent products are, where they came from and any other ingredients that may have been added.
Everything must be tested, with the results posted, or else it cannot be sold.
Jamie Warm, CEO of Henry's Original cannabis products, said his products already meet the standards for testing and packaging but he says that -- once dispensaries clear out old inventory -- there could be a cannabis shortage.
That concerns consumers like Lee who use marijuana for medical reasons. Lee says she worries a possible shortage will make it harder to get the products she depends on.
"I'm really scared ... because this is really good medicine and this really, really helps a lot of people," Lee said.
State regulators say they are not budging from that deadline, having already given California cannabis businesses a six-month notice.
"Every dispensary, I think, is scrambling to meet the July first deadline," Warm said.