This weekend, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill to legalize coffeeshops, another to decriminalize certain psychedelic plants, and a third that would have imposed new restrictions on labeling. and packaging of cannabis products.
In his veto message regarding the bill on cannabis cafeswhich would have allowed cannabis dispensaries to sell non-alcoholic beverages and food, Mr. Newsom said the measure “could undermine California’s long-standing smoke-free workplace protections,” but he urged the bill’s author to address this concern in subsequent legislation.
In his veto of the bill to decriminalize certain psychedelic plants, including mescaline, DMT, psilocybin and psilocin, Mr. Newsom said that although “peer-reviewed science and personal anecdotes” lead to “supporting new opportunities to treat mental health through psychedelic medications,” he believes the state should first “begin work to establish regulated treatment guidelines,” including “information on dosage, therapeutic guidelines, rules to prevent exploitation during guided treatments, and medical clearance for the absence of underlying psychoses.”
“I urge the Legislature to send me legislation next year that includes treatment guidelines. Additionally, I am committed to working with the Legislature and the sponsors of this bill to develop legislation that would authorize their uses and consider a framework for possible broader decriminalization in the future, once the impacts, the dosage, best practices and safety safeguards will have been carefully studied and put in place. » explained Gavin Newsom.
Mr. Newsom’s veto of the bill that would have banned cannabis product labels and packaging from being “appealing to children” is because he believes the term “appealing to children” is ” too big “. He said the state’s medical and adult-use cannabis laws, as well as Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) regulations, already prohibit this type of marketing.
“By banning entire categories of images, this bill would capture common designs,” Mr. Newsom said in his veto message, “and I am not convinced that these additional limits will meaningfully protect children beyond beyond what is required by existing law.”
Mr. Newsom added that he would direct the DCC to “strengthen and expand existing cannabis protections for youth.”
