On September 18, 2022, Governor Newsom signed 10 cannabis related bills, marking the end of the 2021-2022 legislative session and another year of progress for CCIA and the cannabis industry at large. While it is no secret that the industry continues to struggle, the combined efforts of CCIA leadership and members, in collaboration with other organizations, made significant strides towards a healthier future. Read the 2022 CCIA legislative wrap up on our legislative resources page.

On the regulatory front, CCIA’s Quality Control Committee, which includes numerous chemists, product makers, testing labs, and other scientific experts, identified a number of serious issues with the DCC’s  proposed cannabinoids test method. These issues, such as providing grossly inaccurate reporting of cannabinoid content, would have posed a major public safety risk. CCIA engaged in tireless advocacy on this issue including multiple letters and reports submitted to the DCC, meetings with key Legislators and the Governor’s office, and a coordinated PR campaign with the leading insurance providers in the state to educate and push back on this singular methodology. In a major victory for the legal industry and public safety, the DCC announced on Oct. 4 that they were reversing course and would limit the test method to flower and pre-rolls only. CCIA’s success on this issue came from the leadership of Josh Wurzer and Leo Welder, Co-Chairs from our Quality Control Committee!

Finally, CCIA has been making headlines with its recently published whitepaper entitled “Pandora’s Box: The Dangers of a National, Unregulated, Hemp-Derived Intoxicating Cannabinoid Market,” which details the dangers associated with the growing number of increasingly intoxicating products currently being sold as “hemp” and calls for urgent reform to address a public health crisis. 

To read the press release click HERE and for the full whitepaper click HERE.