BREAKING – Deal reached to Remove Smoking Ban from California’s AB 45!

We’re excited to report that a final deal has been reached with Governor Gavin Newsom to move to final passage of AB 45, our long term effort to explicitly permit the retail sale of hemp-derived extracts such as CBD in California. And a highlight of that compromise was the removal of language to ban hemp smokables in the state – replaced by a phase-in approach that will permit their sale to adults and the immediate manufacture of smokable products to be sold in other states.

We are deeply grateful for the leadership of Governor Gavin Newsom who met with Roundtable leadership and was deeply invested in securing passage of this bill. We are also appreciative for the leadership of the California Hemp Council, the voice of the state’s hemp industry, which partnered with the Roundtable, other California stakeholders, and, of course, our amazing bill sponsor, Rep. Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, to secure the final compromise. But mostly we are thankful to YOU, our Hemp Supporters, who made sure that policymakers in Sacramento heard the concerns of hemp farmers, CBD businesses, and product consumers.

But we are not done yet. And we need your help one last time.

While the bill has sailed through six legislative committees and the Assembly floor with only a handful of no votes, we will have a final vote on the Senate floor Wednesday, September 8 with one last vote on the Assembly floor Thursday or Friday. We ask you ONE MORE TIME to head to our State Action Center to urge your state legislators to vote for this critical bill. If you do not hail from the Golden State, please share this alert with your California friends and social media contacts.

Let’s get AB 45 past the finish line!