Nearly 200 stakeholders gathered Friday at California’s Department of Consumer Affairs to discuss medical cannabis regulations.
“The proposed regulations for medical cannabis are the result of countless hours of research, stakeholder outreach, informational sessions and pre-regulatory meetings all across the state,” Lori Ajax, chief of the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation Leadership, wrote in a press release about the meeting.
This is the “largest cottage industry the U.S. has seen,” the executive director of Tahoe Wellness Co-Op, Cody Bass, said at the podium.
The transition of marijuana from underground, cottage industry to regulated recreational use includes stakeholders such as transporters, testers, distributors, farmers and dispensary owners. It also includes creating regulations that stakeholders are capable of following.
“The supply chain is now being built,” attorney Dale Schafer said of the transition.
Currently the state is considering vendors for “track-and-trace” software, which follows amounts of cannabis from licensee to licensee. The track-and-trace software shares information with licensing software also under development. While stakeholders did not oppose the track-and-trace software, many voiced concerns over having a short timeline for inventorying cannabis products.
Stakeholders emphasized the importance of remaining compliant with regulations, asserting that the inventory time limits currently in place would not allow enough time to double-check counts. The tracing software is meant to allow industry members to isolate when cannabis goes missing so it can be easily reported.
The state licensing software would register employees and businesses to handle cannabis. However, stakeholders commented on the number of licenses that would be required for delivery services. Many local governments are still building frameworks to interpret the legislation legalizing cannabis in California. Several will allow cannabis use but will not issue business licenses for brick-and-mortar dispensaries, as seen in Marin County. This would encourage a delivery business model, but that would require a new license for each local government.
“Marin County is exploring a delivery-only model, meaning we need our state to release these licenses for our local permits to align with the state,” said Nurit Raphael, owner of deliver service ONA Life.
Another concern expressed regarding regulations was banking. Being unable to deposit profits into a federally insured bank “forces commingling,” said Lisa Gresham of Norcal Nectar. “We struggle to be compliant.”
Options such as cryptocurrency and armored vehicles also were discussed.
