Hemp-derived THC beverages and edibles are now officially off limits in California after the state’s Office of Administrative Law approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed emergency ban on Monday. When the move earlier this month, Gov.
Newsom argued that the current situation — in which “intoxicating hemp products” are widely available across California outside of regulated adult-use channels — required swift action, vowing to “not sit on our hands as drug peddlers target our children with dangerous and unregulated hemp products containing THC at our retail stores.” The Office of Administrative Law with the Governor, implementing the emergency ban through March 25, 2025. Newsom previously sought to curtail hemp-derived products through , proposed by majority leader Cecelia Aguiar-Curry, but the was killed in session when it was not called to vote.
Cannabis industry advocates have loudly protested the proposed ban, which could devastate California’s $3.6 billion potential market for hemp-derived products. According to a survey of California operators conducted by cannabis research firm Whitney Economics, 83.
3% of respondents said that if the ban was enacted, they would either go out of business, move to another state and/or transition their business online. Go Deeper:.
