California Governor Gavin Newsom Takes Action on Cannabis-Related Bills: Signs, Vetoes, and Pending Decisions

California Governor Gavin Newsom has made several decisions regarding cannabis-related bills, including vetoes and signings. Among the actions taken:

Signed Into Law:

1. SB 700: Prohibits employers from asking job applicants about prior marijuana use.
2. SB 622: Changes how marijuana plants are tracked to promote environmental sustainability by eliminating single-use plastic tags.
3. SB 302: Adds people aged 65 and older with serious chronic illness to those who can use medical cannabis at health facilities.
4. AB 1021: Automatically allows California health professionals to legally prescribe and dispense any rescheduled Schedule I drug by the federal government.
5. AB 1171: Allows marijuana business licensees to take legal action against unlicensed cannabis businesses in state superior court if they can prove damages resulting from the operation.
6. SB 753: Makes it a felony offense for adults who plant, cultivate, harvest, or process more than six cannabis plants in a way that intentionally or with gross negligence causes substantial environmental harm.
7. AB 623: Requires the state to create appropriate testing variances for low-THC products in the cannabis industry.
8. AB 1126: Prohibits the unauthorized use of a universal cannabis symbol for commercial purposes.
9. AB 1684: Allows administrative fines and penalties that local officials can impose against certain violations by unlicensed cannabis cultivators to also be applied to unlicensed marijuana manufacturers, processors, distributors, and retailers.
10. SB 51: Allows people who qualify as social equity business applicants to continue to apply for and renew provisional retailer licenses through January 2031.
11. SB 540: Requires the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) to create a brochure with information about steps for the safer use of cannabis and mandates DCC to reevaluate labeling and packaging regulations periodically.

Vetoed Bills:

1. SB 58: Would have legalized the possession and cultivation of small amounts of psilocybin, DMT, and mescaline for adults 21 and older.
2. AB 374: Would have legalized marijuana cafes, allowing dispensaries to offer non-cannabis food and drinks at their location if they received local approval.
3. AB 1207: Would have established a new definition for marijuana product packaging considered “attractive to children” and prohibited such packaging.

Pending Action:

Several other cannabis bills are still pending action on the governor’s desk, including:

• AB 1448: Would transfer a portion of civil penalties collected following enforcement action against unlicensed marijuana businesses from the state general fund to local treasurers in jurisdictions that brought the action against the illegal operators.
• SB 833: Would allow regulators at DCC to approve requests from cannabis cultivators to change their license type to a smaller category or inactive status.
• AB 993: Would add representatives of the state Civil Rights Department and Department of Industrial Relations to an existing marijuana task force responsible for facilitating communication between state and local cannabis regulators.