A new California report highlights potential risks associated with high-potency marijuana and recommends further restrictions on marketing, product development and business opportunities for licensed cannabis operators in the world’s largest regulated market.
The 42-page report – prepared by scientists and medical experts selected by the California state health department – identified 20 key policy recommendations, including:
- Restricting billboards and other public advertisements seen by children.
- Limiting THC-potency caps and mandating lower-potency options.
- Taxing cannabis products based on potency.
- Requiring plain packaging, similar to what’s being done in Missouri and a few other regulated markets.
- Prohibiting flavored products.
The findings, according to the report’s authors, are intended to guide policymakers and raise public awareness to improve consumer safety in California’s evolving cannabis market.
Some recommendations have been in place for years in the California market.
In one example, a 2021 ruling by a Superior Court judge prohibited marijuana advertising on any interstate or state highway crossing the California border, a rare restriction in the U.S. cannabis sector.
Proposition 64, the state’s marijuana legalization law voters approved in 2016, also includes dozens of rules and regulations regarding packaging, marketing, limiting exposure to minors and other business restrictions.
