Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2249 in Sacramento, strengthening California’s laws on cannabis packaging, labeling, advertising and marketing that may appeal to children. The bill was authored by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks).
The new law bans cannabis advertising and labels featuring images attractive to children, including cartoons, candies, and sweets. It strengthens and clarifies protections enacted by voters in Proposition 64 in 2016, which established the state’s regulated adult-use cannabis market for people 21 and older.
AB 2249 follows recommendations from the California State Auditor to provide greater clarity around the state’s existing standards for cannabis packaging that may appeal to children. The legislation provides clearer benchmarks for regulators to identify packaging, labeling, advertising, and marketing attractive to young people.
It also restricts cartoon or overly stylized fruit imagery on edible cannabis and vape cartridge labeling. Realistic fruit imagery used to accurately describe ingredients or where a product was produced remains permitted.
“The recent audit completed by the State Auditor confirmed what many have long recognized: California’s cannabis industry continues to package and market products in ways which are overtly attractive to children,” said Assemblymember Irwin.
Irwin said that since the passage of Proposition 64, child cannabis poisonings have increased dramatically. She said these exposures are often driven by cannabis product packaging that uses features which are explicitly attractive to children, leading children to consume the products unintentionally.
Young children who accidentally consume cannabis require poison control treatment consistently, according to Irwin. She noted that in many cases, they can also expose their fellow elementary and middle school peers to cannabis.
The law also targets products that mimic the appearance of non-cannabis goods primarily marketed to children. It supports consistent standards and provides licensees with clear expectations for operating in California’s regulated cannabis market.
The Department of Cannabis Control will develop resources to help licensees evaluate their products for compliance. Those resources will include education materials, examples and guidance.
The signing builds on the state’s broader efforts to crack down on intoxicating products that exploit regulatory loopholes.
Those regulations prohibited detectable THC in consumable hemp products, limited package size, and established a minimum purchase age of 21.
Information about the legal California cannabis market, state licenses, and laws is available at cannabis.ca.gov.
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