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All marijuana sold in California by state-owned firms will be forced to undergo new quality tests and toxins as of Sunday, but retailers warn that they will face financial difficulties because they will have to destroy tens of millions of dollars of untested products. The United Cannabis Business Association has led 128 companies and cannabis advocacy groups to petition Governor Jerry Brown on Friday to indefinitely extend the period of sale of marijuana products that do not meet new test standards to avoid forcing some licensed companies Jerred Kiloh, president of the association, which represents 76 retailers in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
The association has investigated about 50 marijuana companies. According to estimates, state retailers could lose $ 90 million worth of marijuana which they will have to get rid of because they can not be sold legally.
The coalition said in a letter to Brown that an extension is warranted in part because there are not enough test facilities allowed by the company. State to manage the volume of cannabis required by marijuana stores to meet consumer demand. Without an extension, "retailers will be forced to destroy everything in their inventory and buy new products," the group wrote to Brown. "Not only will it cripple the majority of retailers, but there will not be enough compliant products on the market to meet the demand."
Californians approved the legalization of marijuana in 2016 and announced that State began issuing permits to sell marijuana on January 1 with limited testing requirements. But many retailers have stored large amounts of cannabis harvested by January 1, which has not been tested.
The state has agreed to postpone the more expensive requirements – including more comprehensive testing, labeling and packaging. Brown's administration has not made any changes. intend to delay the new requirements for testing, said Alex Traverso, a spokesman for the State Office of Cannabis Control
"We published our emergency regulations in November. At that time, we were very clear about the fact that there would be a six-month transition period for retailers to deplete their existing supply, "Traverso said. was enough time to deplete stocks and adapt to California's new rules. "
Joseph Devlin, head of Cannabis application for the city of Sacramento, believes retailers could dispose of it Marijuana pounds worth about $ 10 million .The date purpose it could encourage some retailers to surreptitiously sell their valuable surpluses in the illicit market, even if being caught could result in the loss of their state licenses
"As far as the state is concerned, we have at least, "said Devlin. "We expect people to throw a lot of money at a time when they are spending a lot of money on things like compliance and permits.
State officials are confident that the transition will be without major disruption. [19659002] "Do we want to get more licensed and operational labs? Absolutely we do," Traverso said. "But we are hopeful that what we have now will be enough to test all products after July 1st."
The requirement for further testing is a key requirement for the legalization of marijuana, says Traverso. Meanwhile, state officials and industry observers say the new test requirement creates a short-term benefit for consumers as retailers hold "fire sales". "To sell their surplus marijuana at significant discounts before Sunday."
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