What’s On Your Label, Part 2: California Cannabis Packaging and Labeling for “New” Products

18 Feb What’s On Your Label, Part 2: California Cannabis Packaging and Labeling for “New” Products

Posted at 10:00h in Art, Business, Design, News by

For New Products, retailers won’t package or label anything. Instead, all New Products will come to retailers already packaged and labeled by either cultivators, processors, manufacturers, or distributors. The only packaging requirement retailers have for New Products is exit packaging. Specifically, per section 5413 of the Bureau of Cannabis Control Emergency MAUCRSA rules, “[c]annabis goods purchased by a customer shall not leave the retailer’s premises unless the goods are placed in an opaque exit package.”

Distributors

While distributors have lost a lot of power via MAUCRSA, they may still package, label, re-package, and re-label flower for retail sale (in line with cultivation packaging and labeling rules). That said, they cannot package, label, re-package, and re-label manufactured products unless they also own a manufacturing license and they’re dealing with their own manufactured products. The lone exception for manufactured products is if lab testing shows that the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, per package or serving, was labeled incorrectly but is still within allowable THC limits. In that case, the distributor may then re-label the package with the correct amount of THC. Lastly, “transport only” distributors can’t package, label, re-package, or re-label any cannabis goods at all.

Manufacturers

For manufactured New Products, manufacturers (and Type Ps that label, package, re-label, and re-package cannabis products) must ensure that the label is in English and that all required labeling is “unobstructed and conspicuous” so that it can be “read by the consumer”. Moreover, all required labeling must go on the outside of the package or container (supplemental product information and “side effects” information can go on the inside of the packaging through inserts). There are two mandatory panel labeling requirements for manufactured New Products: the primary label and the informational label.

The primary label must contain the following items, in no less than 6-point font and in relation to the size of the primary panel and container/package:

  1. the identity of the product in a text size reasonably related to the most prominent printed matter on the panel;
  2. the net weight or volume of the contents of the package; and
  3. the THC content and cannabidiol (CBD) content for the package in its entirety (even if the CBD content is zero), expressed in milligrams per package.

If the manufactured New Product is an edible, the following requirements also apply:

  1. the words “cannabis-infused” must go immediately above the identity of the product in bold type and a text size larger than the text size used for the identity of the product; and
  2. the THC content and CBD content per serving, expressed in milligrams per serving; and
  3. this crazy symbol must be included:

You can include additional product information on the primary panel, but the foregoing MUST be on the outside label as relevant.

The informational label must also contain (in no less than a 6-point font in relation to the size of the primary panel and container/package, with limited exceptions depending on how much room you have with the label):

  1. the licensed manufacturer and its contact number or website address;
  2. the date of the cannabis product’s manufacture;
  3. the following statement: “GOVERNMENT WARNING: THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS CANNABIS, A SCHEDULE I CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN AND ANIMALS. CANNABIS PRODUCTS MAY ONLY BE POSSESSED OR CONSUMED BY PERSONS 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER UNLESS THE PERSON IS A QUALIFIED PATIENT. THE INTOXICATING EFFECTS OF CANNABIS PRODUCTS MAY BE DELAYED UP TO TWO HOURS. CANNABIS USE WHILE PREGNANT OR BREASTFEEDING MAY BE HARMFUL. CONSUMPTION OF CANNABIS PRODUCTS IMPAIRS YOUR ABILITY TO DRIVE AND OPERATE MACHINERY. PLEASE USE EXTREME CAUTION;
  4. if the product is intended for the medical market, the statement “For Medicinal Use Only”;
  5. a list of all product ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight or volume;
  6. if an edible product that contains an ingredient, flavoring, coloring, or an incidental additive that bears or contains a major food allergen, the word “contains,” followed by a list of the applicable major food allergens;
  7. if an edible product, the names of any artificial food colorings contained in the product and the amount, in grams, of sodium, sugar, carbohydrates, and total fat per serving; Instructions for use, such as the method of consumption or application, and any preparation necessary prior to use (which is completely up to the manufacturer); and
  8. the product expiration date, “use by” date, or “best by” date, if any; and, when available from the state, the UID and, if used, the batch number.

For the required packaging of all manufactured New Products, manufacturers must have packaging that is:

  1. capable of protecting the product from contamination and that shall not expose the product to any toxic or harmful substance;
  2. tamper-evident, which means that the product shall be packaged in packaging that is sealed so that the contents cannot be opened without obvious destruction of the seal;
  3. child-resistant, which means the package shall be designed or constructed to be significantly difficult for children under five years of age to open or otherwise obtain access to the product contained therein within a reasonable time, and shall not be difficult for normal adults to open or obtain access to the product contained therein;
  4. not imitating any package used for products typically marketed to children;
  5. if an edible New Product, opaque; and
  6. if the package contains more than one serving of cannabis product, re-sealable so that child-resistance is maintained throughout the life of the package.

Cultivators and Processors

Cultivators can grow and process their own flower. Processors only trim, dry, cure, grade, package, and/or label flower or non-manufactured cannabis: they don’t grow anything. Both are charged with the following packaging and labeling requirements for cultivated New Products headed for retail sale (including the same font, conspicuous placement, and English language requirements as manufacturers):

  1. all cannabis has to be labeled and placed in a resealable, tamper-evident, child-resistant package and must include, once available, a unique identifier for the purposes of identifying and tracking cannabis and cannabis products;
  2. the following statement in bold print:  “GOVERNMENT WARNING: THIS PACKAGE CONTAINS CANNABIS, A SCHEDULE I CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN AND ANIMALS. CANNABIS MAY ONLY BE POSSESSED OR CONSUMED BY PERSONS 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER UNLESS THE PERSON IS A QUALIFIED PATIENT. CANNABIS USE WHILE PREGNANT OR BREASTFEEDING MAY BE HARMFUL. CONSUMPTION OF CANNABIS IMPAIRS YOUR ABILITY TO DRIVE AND OPERATE MACHINERY. PLEASE USE EXTREME CAUTION.”;
  3. the net weight of cannabis in the package;
  4. identification of the source and date of cultivation, the type of cannabis, and the date of packaging;
  5. the appellation of origin, if any;
  6. list of pharmacologically active ingredients, including, but not limited to THC, CBD, and other cannabinoid content, the THC and other cannabinoid amount in milligrams per serving, servings per package, and the THC and other cannabinoid amount in milligrams for the package total; and
  7. information associated with the unique identifier issued by the state Department of Food and Agriculture.

Additionally, a flower label may specify the county of origin only if 100% of the cannabis or nonmanufactured cannabis product contained in the package was produced within the designated county, as defined by finite political boundaries. For more on cannabis appellations in California, see here.

In all, the packaging and labeling requirements for California cannabis products are extremely detailed and must be followed to a T by any business that wishes to maintain its medical or adult use license. All prospective licensees should begin preparations today.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of this series on California cannabis packaging and labeling, where I’ll cover the warnings and disclaimers that should go on your products (not covered under or mandated by MAUCRSA), including how to handle new Prop. 65 rules.

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