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Independent Voter News: Tariffs and Vape Ban Could Push California’s Cannabis Market Further Underground
- Laura Braden
- Apr 14
- 1 min read
EXCERPT:
Adding to the pressure is AB 762, a bill from Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin that would ban all disposable vapes -- including cannabis products — defined as any device that isn’t both rechargeable and refillable. Because current law prohibits refillable cannabis vapes, the bill would effectively ban the entire category.
At an Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials hearing on April 8, Amy O’Gorman Jenkins, Executive Director of the California Cannabis Operators Association said in written testimony that “characterizing these as “single-use” or “non-reusable” is misleading: a half-gram device delivers around 150 doses, and a full gram provides more than 300. These are used over weeks or months, not discarded after one session.”
O’Gorman Jenkins also warned in her testimony that removing regulated vapes from store shelves would push consumers back into the "unregulated and unsafe illicit market, which faces none of the legal, environmental, or product safety requirements.”
“California’s legal cannabis industry is among the most regulated in the world. In contrast, the illicit market faces none of these requirements,” she said.
“The public health risks are real,” Jenkins said, referencing the 2019 EVALI outbreak, which the CDC linked to illicit-market vapes. “Removing compliant, tested products does not protect consumers—it exposes them to far greater harm.”
