Final California marijuana industry rules may not be made public until January

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California's cannabis industry regulations, Final California marijuana industry rules may not be made public until January

Although California’s final cannabis industry regulations will reportedly be completed Monday, many industry insiders likely won’t be able to read them until January.

That may be a disappointment to marijuana businesses that were anticipating being able to see the final rules sooner than later.

“We expect to send our final version of permanent regulations to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) on Monday, Dec. 3,” Alex Traverso, spokesman for the California Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC), wrote in an email to Marijuana Business Daily.

“That will kick off a 30-day review period for OAL. The regulations will not be made public while OAL conducts its review,” he added.

Traverso wrote that the anticipated public release of final regulations after the OAL has given approval is “likely in early- (or) mid-January.”

He noted the BCC is exploring possible ways to make the regulations public sooner.

The state’s Department of Food and Agriculture, which oversees cultivators, and the Department of Public Health, which governs MJ manufacturers, will also be sending final rules to the OAL on Monday.

A similar timeline is expected for the regulations to be made public from all three agencies.

The regulations have taken more than a year for state officials to craft, and they have gone through multiple revisions throughout 2018.

The latest drafts of permanent rules were released Oct. 19.

Traverso said that until the OAL approves the final rules, the industry will be governed by emergency regulations that were re-adopted in June.

The OAL did not immediately respond to a MJBizDaily‘s request for comment as to when the final regulations might be published online.

John Schroyer can be reached at johns@mjbizdaily.com