California Bureau of Cannabis Control

Agency executive
  • Nicole Elliott, Director
Parent departmentCalifornia Business, Consumer Services and Housing AgencyWebsitecannabis.ca.gov

The Department of Cannabis Control (formerly the Bureau of Cannabis Control, originally established as Bureau of Marijuana Control under Proposition 64,[1][2] formerly the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation[3][4]) is an agency of the State of California within the Department of Consumer Affairs, charged with regulating medical cannabis (MMJ) in accordance with state law pursuant to the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act passed by the legislature in 2015 (amended in 2016) and the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (Proposition 64), passed by voter initiative in November 2016. The agency was charged with creating rules for the legal non-medical market to take effect January 1, 2018; and to regulate the state's multibillion dollar medical program[a] for the first time. The first agency leader, Lori Ajax, referred to in multiple media outlets as the state's cannabis "czar", was appointed by the governor in February 2017. State senator Mike McGuire has expressed doubt that the board would meet deadlines to allow regulated retail sales by 2018 as planned.[6]

When the agency published emergency rules on November 16, 2017 under California Code of Regulations, Title 16, Division 42, it effectively became the Bureau of Cannabis Control.[7]

In July 2021, following the signing of California Assembly Bill 141, California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency's Bureau of Cannabis Control, California Department of Food and Agriculture's CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Division, and California Department of Public Health's Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch were consolidated into the Department of Cannabis Control.[8]

Created in 2022, the Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce (UCETF), staffed by local, state and federal partners, is jointly run by the Department of Cannabis Control and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, with coordination run by the Homeland Security Division of Cal OES, to disrupt the illegal cannabis market. [9]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Medical marijuana sales in California were reported by The New York Times to be over $2.5 billion in 2015[5]

References

  1. ^ Ballotpedia
  2. ^ McGreevy
  3. ^ "Update: Changes for New Medical Cannabis Regulation Bureau", official blog, State of California Department of Consumer Affairs, August 3, 2016
  4. ^ Police Chiefs
  5. ^ Lovett, Ian (2016-04-11). "In California, Marijuana Is Smelling More Like Big Business". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
  6. ^ Carroll
  7. ^ California Adopts Emergency Cannabis Regulations for Licensing Beginning on January 1, 2018 November 28, 2017 Dorsey & Whitney LLP
  8. ^ Bloom, Isabella (2021-07-16). "California opens new marijuana agency 5 years after legalization, aiming to simplify rules". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  9. ^ Wreden, Matt (2024-04-11). "Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce seizes more than $53M worth of illegal cannabis". Action News Now. Retrieved 2024-04-26.

Sources

  • California Proposition 64, Marijuana Legalization (2016) at Ballotpedia, accessed May 1, 2016
  • Patrick McGreevy (November 8, 2016), "Voters legalize pot in California. Here's what will happen next", The Los Angeles Times
  • PETER HECHT (January 18, 2017), "California's pot czar on upcoming marijuana regulation: "We will not fail"", Sacramento Bee
  • Patrick McGreevy (February 15, 2017), "Senate panel supports confirmation of Lori Ajax as California pot czar", The Los Angeles Times
  • LISA M. KRIEGER (February 17, 2017), "6 new things we learned from California's cannabis czar", San Jose Mercury News
  • Tiffany Wu (February 15, 2017), "California wants you for the cannabis advisory committee", Canna Law Blog, Seattle: Harris Bricken Law Firm
  • Michael R. Blood; Don Thomson (January 30, 2017), "Building the airplane while it's being flown": How California looks to build $7B legal pot economy, Associated Press – via The Cannabist
  • Rory Carroll (February 14, 2017), California Marijuana Tax and Tracking Systems Behind Schedule: Lawmaker, Reuters – via US News
  • AN ANALYSIS OF CALIFORNIA'S MEDICAL MARIJUANA REGULATION & SAFETY ACT (PDF), California Police Chiefs Association, archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-14

External links

  • Official website
  • v
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Cannabis in California
Propositions
  • California Proposition 19 (1972)
  • California Proposition 215 (1996)
  • California Proposition 36 (2000)
  • California Proposition 19 (2010)
  • Adult Use of Marijuana Act (2016)
California Senate Bills
California Senate Bill 420 (2003)
California Assembly BillsRelated
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