If your business is industrial hemp, you need to know about AB45 which will ban the sale of Smokable Hemp Flower and Processed Flower/Pre-rolls in California.
AND affect the manufacturing, distribution and retailing of local, domestic and imported hemp CBD products in the State of California.
AND do a whole lot more to change how you do business and potentially put you out of business.
AB-45 was largely a creation of paid lobbyists and out of state CBD corporations developed without consultation from California hemp farmers, retailers, or manufacturers/processors and will disadvantage California based businesses and potentially put hundreds out of business and thousands of Californian’s out of work.
Update! AB45 signed into law: On October 6th, Governor Newsom signed AB45 into law and due to its emergency provision, the law becomes effective immediately.
The Hemp Roundtable, main supporter and contributer to AB45, published an overview of the bill which finds them simultaneously congratulating and distancing themselves from the many confusing and unworkable provisions of the bill, often stating that these issues will be worked out as the Department of Public Health (CDPH) promulgates the statute into regulations that will oversee the industry. Please scroll through the link below to read their overview.
While placing the industry’s future in the hands of the CDPH is concerning enough due to their historic anti-CBD stance, the best antidote for all who intend to continue to be a part of California’s hemp industry is to get involved.
- Attend the IHAP (California’s Industrial Hemp Advisory Board) meeting on Thursday, November 18th. https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/industrialhemp/docs/agendas/2021/20211014_ihab_notice_and_agenda.pdf
- Contact Assemblywoman Aguiar-Curry who plans to sponsor new legislation to address inhalables, including a tax on these products. https://services.statescape.com/LegislatorInfo/Legislator.aspx?id=14419
- Follow the progress of and make comments to CDPH as they develop their regulations.
- Educate! Ourselves, each other and most especially continue to educate your representatives about CBD and the challenges you face as a farmer/producer.
- Sign up below for updates or check back periodically as we intend to keep things up and running and informational as we continue down this unfortunate road.
- Take a moment to help us understand the immediate impacts of the passage of this bill on your farm and business by filling out the survey below.
The authors of the bill, Assemblywoman Aguiar-Curry as well as the Hemp Roundtable, California Hemp Council and Vote Hemp, did not take into account farmer’s concerns and the majority of legislators in both the Senate and Assembly moved the bill forward. The threat that the law will present to California’s industrial hemp industry is huge. Please become familar with the bill through the links below, to understand how the bill will affect your business and farm.
The smokable flower ban was removed but the addition of Section 111921.6. (a) is equally concerning. This reads: “Manufacture or sale of inhalable products is prohibited. Manufacture of inhalable products for the sole purpose of sale in other states is not prohibited.” AND (b) This section shall become inoperative and is repealed on the effective date of a measure passed by the Legislature that establishes a tax on inhalable products and states the intent of the Legislature to fulfill the requirements of this section.” So, in a nutshell it appears as though smokable flower and smokable flower products if definable as “inhalable products” are not going to be able to be sold in California following passage of this bill until the legislature passes a bill to tax the product, not likely to happen anytime soon.
Click on the “Read the bill” button found at the bottom of the page to read the most recent version of the bill or click on this link to read an abbreviated overview of the amended bill. https://openstates.org/ca/bills/20212022/AB45/
On September 2nd, the State of California’s Industrial Hemp Advisory Board (IHAB) which makes recommendations on Industrial Hemp regulations, passed a resolution against AB-45. The resolution stated: Whereas California hemp farmers have not effectively been consulted nor had input on legislative bill AB-45, and that California hemp farmers and hemp organizations that know about AB-45 have voiced their opposition and concerns to IHAB and it’s board members, therefore the Industrial Hemp Advisory Board of CDFA recommends that AB-45 be halted and not move forward, in the current legislative session.
The California Hemp Coalition, an alliance of statewide groups including the Hemp Farmer’s Guild, the California Hemp Association and Ca-Hemp, will continue to represent hemp farmers, businesses and consumers as we move forward in this new climate together.
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Thank you for all of your hard work in reaching your representatives and making your voices heard.
Note: If you are in the business of growing/selling/retailing smokable hemp flower or producing/selling/retailing products from smokable hemp flower, you are at risk of becoming criminalized with the passage of this bill.
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STOP AB-45 