CaCOA Scores Key Wins as California Cannabis Legislation Advances out of Fiscal Committees

The Assembly and Senate Appropriations Committees recently advanced a slate of bills addressing enforcement reform, product testing, packaging standards, and growing concerns over nitrous oxide sales to minors. 

Two bills backed by the California Cannabis Operators Association (CaCOA) (AB 2537 and AB 1826) passed, moving the industry closer to a smarter, more equitable enforcement framework. 

Here's where each bill stands and what it does:

• AB 2250 (Aguiar-Curry): Passed 

  • Makes targeted technical changes to support implementation of AB 8 by clarifying enforcement funding and seizure authority related to unlawful cannabis and cannabinoid products, streamlining cannabinoid definitions across code sections, and confirming that non-intoxicating CBN isolate remains excluded from the statutory framework, consistent with legislative intent.

• AB 2537 (Chen): Passed 

  • Requires the Department of Cannabis Control to prioritize enforcement based on real-world risk, focusing resources on material threats such as diversion and contaminated products, while applying less punitive measures to minor technical or administrative violations by licensed operators. CaCOA-sponsored.

• AB 2249 (Irwin): Passed 

  • Addresses cannabis labeling, packaging, and manufacturing standards with a focus on youth advertising and marketing enforcement, responding directly to a California State Auditor report on DCC's oversight of advertising practices.

• AB 1826 (Lackey): Passed 

  • Refines the DCC's recall, embargo, and product destruction procedures by requiring notifications to licensees to include supporting documentation, mandating a meet-and-confer opportunity before voluntary recalls proceed, and setting timelines for condemnation proceedings.

• AB 2076 (Lowenthal): Passed 

  • Adds nitrous oxide to California's existing age verification requirements under the Parent's Accountability and Child Protection Act, requiring online marketplaces to verify buyer age before completing a sale, with strengthened enforcement for non-compliance.

• AB 1965 (Sharp-Collins): Passed  

  • Strengthens California’s cannabis testing framework by clarifying retesting authority for compromised samples, authorizing DCC off-the-shelf product testing, requiring retailers to provide Certificates of Analysis upon request, establishing laboratory performance testing standards, and requiring compliance with DCC testing evaluations.

• SB 936 (Blakespear): Passed 

  • Prohibits the retail sale of all flavored nitrous oxide and unflavored nitrous oxide in containers larger than 8 grams, and bans devices used to allow direct inhalation, while preserving legitimate uses in medical, dental, culinary, and automotive settings.

• SB 1314 (Menjivar): Passed 

  • Prohibits smoke shops from possessing or selling nitrous oxide or related paraphernalia, restricts new smoke shop locations to at least 600 feet from schools and day care centers, and limits retail hours to between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

These outcomes reflect what's possible when licensed operators show up, speak up, and push together. 

The California Cannabis Operators Association is California's largest cannabis industry association, and every operator who joins strengthens the coalition fighting for a thriving and responsible legal market. Join us today!

(California Cannabis Legislation)