Chapter 248 of the Statutes of 2025 (AB 8) revised the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law to prohibit industrial hemp raw extract from being incorporated into food, food additives, beverages, or dietary supplements unless the industrial hemp raw extract is comprised of cannabidiol (CBD) or cannabinol (CBN) isolate with a purity level greater than 99% and does not contain any tetrahydrocannabinols or synthetic cannabinoids. AB 8, beginning January 1, 2028, revises and recasts various provisions in conformity with that prohibition. Among those conforming changes, AB 8 excludes CBD isolate from the definition of “cannabis concentrate” for purposes of the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, which imposes various penalties for the unlawful possession or sale of cannabis concentrate.

This bill, beginning on January 1, 2028, would also exclude CBN isolate from that definition of “cannabis concentrate.”

AB 8 revised certain Cannabis Tax Law enforcement provisions by establishing a presumption that a product that contains or purports to contain a cannabinoid is a cannabis product, as specified. AB 8 authorized this presumption to be rebutted by evidence showing either that the product complies with the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law provisions regulating industrial hemp or that it meets the definition of industrial hemp as defined in the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act.

This bill would make organizational and clarifying changes to those presumption provisions. The bill would consolidate and make other clarifying changes to definitional provisions of the Cannabis Tax Law revised by AB 8.

The Cannabis Tax Law authorizes the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration or a law enforcement agency to seize cannabis or cannabis products from a person who possesses, stores, owns, or has made a sale of those cannabis or cannabis products under certain circumstances. AB 8 expanded the seizure authority under the Cannabis Tax Law to include a circumstance in which the product is possessed, stored, offered for sale, or sold by an unlicensed person or at an unlicensed premises, and is presumed to be a cannabis product for containing or purporting to contain a cannabinoid, including a synthetic cannabinoid, as defined.

This bill would remove that AB 8 provision and, instead, would expand that seizure authority to include a circumstance in which the cannabis or cannabis product is possessed, stored, offered for sale, or sold at an unlicensed premises.

AB 8 revised the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 (act) to prohibit a person that is engaged in the business of selling cigarettes or tobacco products from possessing, storing, owning, or making a retail sale of cannabis, cannabis products, or a product presumed to be cannabis, and makes a violation of that prohibition subject to a specified fine and license suspension or revocation, as applicable. The act authorizes the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to seize cannabis or cannabis products that were possessed, stored, owned, or sold at retail by a person in violation of that prohibition. The act also makes a violation of its provisions a crime, as specified.

Existing law requires all moneys collected pursuant to the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 to be deposited in the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund and makes all moneys in the fund available for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, solely for the purpose of implementing, enforcing, and administering the act, including the seizure and destruction of cigarettes and tobacco products.

This bill would revise that funding provision to specify that the purpose of implementing, enforcing, and administering the act includes the seizure and destruction of any product seized pursuant to the act. The bill would make clarifying changes, including to the definitions of cannabis and cannabis product for purposes of those provisions.