Governor Newsom announces 99.8% compliance with emergency regulations, signs bill to permanently protect children from hemp products

Loopholes in federal law, and an absence of any meaningful action to regulate or enforce, have led to a flood of intoxicating hemp products across the nation. As the federal government continues to abdicate their responsibility to protect consumers, California is stepping up. 

“Bad actors have abused state and federal law to sell intoxicating hemp products in our State. As the author of legislation that allowed the legal sale of non-intoxicating hemp CBD products, this is absolutely unacceptable,” said Assembly Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters). “AB 8 is a result of years of collaboration with this Administration, and I appreciate the Governor’s signature. Our first job is to protect our kids and our communities. With this bill, we’ll have responsible regulation, increase enforcement, and support struggling legal cannabis businesses against criminal competition.”

What this means

✅ Creates clear rules: The bill establishes clear rules on how hemp should enter the licensed cannabis market.

✅ Protects our youth: The bill keeps intoxicating hemp products out of the hands of children, ensuring those products are sold through licensed dispensaries to qualifying adults.

✅ Helps consumers: The bill stops the sale of synthetic cannabinoid products and inhalable hemp products, while also carefully limiting the circumstances in which non-intoxicating hemp can be used in products outside the licensed cannabis market.

✅ Beefs up public safety: The bill creates new tools for state and local enforcement partners to go after unlawful cannabis and cannabinoid products.

“AB 8 is a critical step forward for California’s cannabis industry and for consumer safety. By closing loopholes around intoxicating hemp products and bringing them under the same strict rules as cannabis, this legislation protects consumers, ensures fair competition for licensed businesses, and strengthens the integrity of our regulated marketplace,” said Department of Cannabis Control Director Nicole Elliott. “AB 8 makes it clear that all intoxicating products must be held to the same important standards Californians expect.”

Building on existing success

Today’s legislation builds on California’s success by integrating intoxicating hemp products into the state’s cannabis regulatory framework. That framework requires that businesses operate safely, that products are labeled and tested to protect consumers from contaminants, and that children are prevented from accessing cannabis products. Previously, hemp manufacturers have been exploiting legal loopholes to produce and market hemp products that contain intoxicating cannabinoids like THC without the safeguards in place for similar cannabis products. AB 8 helps close these legal loopholes, building on the emergency regulations announced last year.

California became the first state to allow medicinal cannabis use when voters passed the Compassionate Use Act in 1996, and then in 2016, voters legalized the recreational use of cannabis.