What the California cannabis labeling checklists don’t tell you
When you are trying to figure out what to put on your cannabis container, most folks look at what the state requires. California’s Department of Public Health has put together some extremely helpful checklists that outline the labeling requirements for your flower and manufactured products. Unfortunately, there’s one thing that’s on the checklist that is easy to overlook!
Did you notice there’s a difference between the government warnings for flower/pre-rolls and manufactured products? You’d likely only notice it when looking at the two checklists side by side.
Wait? What? There are two government warnings?
Yep. Sure are. The easiest place to see the difference between the two warnings is in the state’s bureau and professions code. Since most folks don’t spend their free time browsing the code, I’ll include it here as well.
(A) For cannabis: “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.”
(B) For cannabis products: “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.”
This is a really common mistake I see regularly. It’s easy to overlook – the warnings look similar, except the latter has the word “product” sprinkled through it a few times. If you are going to develop your own packaging and labels, you’ll want to make sure you use the correct warning.
If you want to make it easy on yourself, you can reach out to an expert like those at Inkbrite and let us design your packaging for you. Because you know that old saying “Life’s too short to design your own compliant cannabis packaging.”
This article is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. This article outlines Inkbrite’s internal policies and should not be interpreted as legal guidance. For legal counsel, please contact your attorney.
If you have comments or questions, please comment below. We love reader feedback.
If you need beautifully designed, compliant packaging for your cannabis products, please contact solutions@inkbrite.com. Is your existing packaging compliant? Inkbrite can tell you with a compliance review.
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