Hey California — The July Deadline for Marijuana Child-Resistant Packaging Is Fast Approaching. Are You Ready?
The marijuana industry in California is going through significant changes. As of this year, the state has legalized cannabis for recreational use and no longer restricts access solely to patients requiring the plant and its derivatives for medicinal purposes. This is in contrast to the federal government, which still classifies marijuana as a controlled substance, but puts California in the company of 29 other states and the District of Columbia where it is legal to purchase marijuana (the latest statistics to date).
One important change is the recognition that we need to regulate the manufacturing, testing, selling, possession and usage of marijuana and its various derivative products. This includes regulation of marijuana product packaging.
Whether you own a company that creates products, delivers them or sells them from a dispensary, you should be aware that the deadline for marijuana child resistant packaging is fast approaching. When the Golden State legalized marijuana on Jan 1, 2018, it gave licensed marijuana business owners a six-month grace period to sell items without child-resistant packaging, and that deadline expires July 1 this year.
You might be familiar with the wide range of packaging currently being used in California for selling marijuana products. A lack of labeling requirements has allowed dispensaries to sell concentrates in plain screw top plastic jars, for example, and flowers (bud) in small flimsy bags or even as individual joints.
You can see cartoon imagery affixed to such products, some of it obviously satirizing popular candies and other treats, which are particularly condemned by those who see them as dangerous temptations for unwitting children to eat. Just as you would want to keep an unsupervised child from easily accessing prescription medications in your home, you would also want to protect kids from coming across a marijuana-infused treat and be harmed after consuming it.
Photos taken by Bill Ludlow (Co-Founder of CRATIV Packaging) at the High Times Cannabis Cup in San Bernardino, CA — February, 2016
When it comes to weed packaging, simply dropping some products with hand-written labels into a paper bag that you staple shut will no longer be an acceptable option. You’ll need to have product packaging for flowers, concentrates and edibles that meets California’s child safety regulations. Of course, you can look on the bright side. Patients and recreational customers will appreciate the enhanced packaging and how it is designed to protect kids, and you will have less anxiety about your products falling into the wrong hands.
Child-Resistant Packaging for Marijuana Products
California’s Senate Bill 94, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act went into effect in 2018 to consolidate regulations for both recreational and medicinal use of the plant. According to California law, all marijuana products must be sold in packages that are tamper evident as well as being certified as child resistant. Packages must be designed to include information about the product, including THC content, an ingredients list and warning statement.
Of particular note: labeling cannot be attractive to children and edible products cannot be referred to as candy. And a label alone will not suffice for keeping marijuana products away from children, hence the child-resistant packaging aspect of the legislation.
How Will You Package Marijuana Products After July?
If your marijuana business is not yet compliant with California’s child proof packaging regulations, you’ve only got three months to prepare to meet the requirements. You can continue selling marijuana products after the July deadline if you start using CERTIFIED CHILD-RESISTANT PACKAGING. It takes time to transition to child resistant packaging, so it is recommended that you get started NOW.
To that end, we’ve developed the CRATIV Case. Each of our certified CRATIV Cases can be Customized to include your company’s logo, with plenty of room to spare for all required labeling information. Presenting your products in fully compliant and distinctive packaging will help set you apart from the competition. To learn more about our marijuana packaging solutions, please get in touch with CRATIV today.
Bill Ludlow
President, CEO, Co-Founder
CRATIV Packaging
Crativpackaging.com
SOURCES:
Governing: State Marijuana Laws in 2018
http://www.governing.com/gov-data/state-marijuana-laws-map-medical-recreational.html
California Legislation Information: Senate Bill No. 94
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB94
California Department of Public Health, Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CEH/DFDCS/MCSB/CDPH%20Document%20Library/PPLicensingInfoSessions.pdf
