CA marijuana regulators, L.A. officials launch 4/20 push backing legal retailers

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As part of a broader campaign by state officials to help bolster the legal cannabis market while clamping down on illicit businesses, the California Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) rolled out a new public relations campaign asking consumers to “get weed wise.”

The effort advises consumers why they should aim to purchase MJ products from legal businesses and offers a resource to check if those companies are licensed.

The agency began circulating a 15-second animated video on Facebook and Instagram in advance of the unofficial cannabis holiday April 20, also known as 4/20, warning consumers that marijuana products from unlicensed sources could contain contaminates – including everything from pesticides to mold.

“Don’t get ripped off,” the ad warns. “Find legal retailers.”

Another online ad directs consumers to the BCC’s license lookup site, where consumers can search for retailers to determine if the ones they’re visiting have permits.

In related news, two Los Angeles City Council members appeared in a YouTube video with the same goal of persuading consumers to seek out licensed shops.

L.A. Council members Joe Buscaino and Marqueece Harris-Dawson in the video simultaneously cheer, “Happy 4/20, Los Angeles!” before launching into a chat about how unlicensed shops are “undercutting those that have gone through the legal process and are following the rules.”

Both implored L.A. residents to look for one of the 181 legal shops in the city when buying cannabis.