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WINTER LLP UPDATE: Licensed Weighmaster Q&A

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Dear All,

Some of you may have received emails from the State requiring you to register as a “licensed weighmaster.” We have prepared the following Q&A which will hopefully answer some of your questions about this requirement. Please review carefully, and do not hesitate to reach out with further questions or if you require assistance in registering as a licensed weighmaster.

  1. What is a licensed Weighmaster?

The Division of Measurement Standards (a division within the CA Dept of Food and Agriculture) administers the Weighmaster Enforcement Program. This program licenses individuals or firms as Weighmasters, who are responsible for weighing, measuring, or counting bulk commodities and issuing certificates of accuracy. Weighmaster certificates are then used as the basis to buy or sell the commodity identified on the certificate.

  1. Do I need to register as a licensed Weighmaster?

Pursuant to the Emergency Regulations released by Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch (Section 40277) and CalCannabis (Section 8213), “For bulk shipments of cannabis and cannabis products, a licensee shall be licensed as a weighmaster, and a certificate shall be issued by a licensed weighmaster.” Therefore cultivators, manufacturers, distributors, and microbusinesses will all need to register as licensed Weighmasters. Please find further information and the application at https://apps1.cdfa.ca.gov/weighmasterpublic/newapplication. Please additionally note there are also County-specific requirements (see #9 below).

  1. What do I need to weigh? (non-exhaustive list)
    1. Containers/packages of trimmings
    2. Containers/packages of flowers/buds
    3. Dried flower
    4. Edibles
    5. Topicals
    6. Shatter
    7. Oils
    8. Tinctures
    9. Extracts
  1. What needs to be on the Weighmaster Certificate?

Please see your County website for requirements. Samples here and here. Copies of voided certificates, issued certificates, and all records need to be maintained for four years.

  1. When do I issue a Weighmaster Certificate?

Whenever payment for your product is dependent on a written or printed weight, measure, or count (any bulk shipments/sales/transports).

  1. What is a Deputy Weighmaster?

All persons who determine weight, measure, or count and/or will be signing weighmaster certificates must be licensed as Deputy Weighmasters. A weighmaster may employ any person to act for them as a deputy weighmaster and shall be responsible for all acts performed by that person. There is no age limit.

  1. What are the fees for a weighmaster license?

Fixed location $75

Each additional fixed location $30

Location other than fixed $200

Deputy $20

  1. How long is a license good for?

The license is good for one year and must be renewed annually.

  1. What kinds of scales do I need? Do I need to register the scales with the County?

More information about the types of scales suitable for commercial purposes can be found here. You must only use weighing devices that have been approved, tested, sealed, and registered with the County Sealer (please find your County and see requirements).

  1. What will happen if I don’t register as a Weighmaster or fail to issue Weighmaster Certificates?

You may be found to be in violation of BPC 26031 (repeated offenses may result in revocation of your State cannabis license), and the violation is punishable by fines up to $1000 and/or six months in jail.

Again, should you need any assistance with the application process (State or County), please let us know.

Thank you, stay safe, and good luck out there! Todd Winter, WINTER LLP.

WINTER LLP UPDATE: Coastal Zone Ordinance – Effective Date TBD (Not Yet)

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Hello All,

As I am sure you are all aware by now, last week the Coastal Commission approved Monterey County’s Coastal Ordinance. This is obviously extremely good news. However, there are still a few more steps that need to be taken by the County before the Ordinance goes into effect. Note, some lobbyists are telling clients the Coastal Ordinance is in effect now. That is NOT accurate.

The County still needs to go through the formal adoption process to approve the ordinance, including a formal hearing and vote by the Board of Supervisors. This hearing is currently scheduled for the March 13th Board of Supervisors meeting. After the Board formally adopts the Coastal Ordinance, it must then go back to the Coastal Commission for final certification.

Based on this timeline, it appears as if the Coastal Ordinance may go into effect sometime in April at the earliest, depending on how long it takes for the Coastal Commission to conduct their final review/approval. Once that is completed, the County can accept your full permit applications.

So, we recommend starting on those now with our office so we are as far along as possible (hopefully complete) by the time April/May rolls around.

As always, we will continue to keep you posted with any new developments, and please feel free to reach out to us with any questions.

Thank you. Todd Winter, WINTER LLP.

WINTER LLP UPDATE: California Trademarks (Success); and CBD Trademarks Federally

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Hello everyone,

As a follow up to our warning email below regarding cannabis trademarks in California, we would like to report that, thanks to the trust of couple of our clients, and with some painful conversations and written arguments with the California Secretary of State, we have now successfully prosecuted a few California state level trademarks for clients.

We still maintain the analysis below w/re to the enforcement and value of state vs. federal trademarks. But I wanted to assure any of you that may be on the fence about filing for California state level trademarks, we believe we have educated the Secretary of State’s office sufficiently to provide you with a positive path forward for In Use Cannabis-specific Trademarks, if you wish to proceed. Please let us know.

Additionally, we are also excited to announce we have overcome the USPTO’s prior objections to clients’ CBD related trademark applications. Previously the USPTO had refused CBD marks based on the FDA/DEA positions. But with only a slight modification to our current filings, we have overcome these objections, and our CBD related trademarks are now moving their way through the USPTO towards full federal registration.

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you.

WINTER LLP UPDATE: URGENT – CANNABIS CONSULTANTS / PACKAGING / LOBBYISTS / ETC.

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Hello Everyone,

It is becoming painfully obvious to us that the so called cannabis consultants, packaging and design companies, lobbyists, and others target marketing cannabis clients in our industry, do not possess the level of knowledge or expertise necessary to legitimately and correctly advise cannabis companies in California w/re to local permitting, state licensing, real estate compliance, trademarks, and most recently packaging. We, as a firm, are spending a tremendous amount of our time fixing problems for clients who have engaged non-experts in these areas.

PLEASE BE ADVISED, 100% of ALL client PACKAGING that HAS been sent to us for COMPLIANCE review HAS FAILED. Every single package we have reviewed has been non-compliant forcing clients to spend 1,000’s to fix. Don’t let this happen to you.

We understand you are all under severe pressure and time constraints to get licensed and get your products out in the market and flowing again. But in doing so, please don’t rely on these companies for legal compliance, permitting, state licensing, trademarks, or packaging. It will cost you much more time and money in the end. We can literally save you 10’s of thousands in design and packaging costs alone, if you just send us your designs/packaging for review first.

Please let us help you on the front end of your projects to avoid unnecessary delays, costs, and/or worse loss of permits and licensing.

WINTER LLP UPDATE: Transition Period FAQ Update – Clarification for MANUFACTURERS re THC Limits on Products prior to 1/1/18

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Hello all,

As you may recall, there was some confusion regarding the applicable THC limits for cannabis products manufactured prior to January 1, 2018. Specifically, the Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch (MCSB) required cannabis products that were manufactured prior to January 1, 2018 to meet the applicable THC limits (100 mg for edibles, 1000-2000mg for concentrates). However, the Bureau of Cannabis Control also indicated in their Emergency Regulations that products manufactured prior to January 1, 2018 could only enter the market if basic packaging and labeling requirements were met (no THC limits). These two statements were obviously contradictory and caused a lot of confusion in the industry.

Well, we are pleased to announce that, as a likely result of the comments we submitted, the MCSB has released a new FAQ today which clarifies the above as follows:

“During the transition period, which lasts from January 1 until July 1, 2018, cannabis products may enter the commercial cannabis market if they have child-resistant packaging and the label contains the government warning statement and the amount of THC per serving.”

To be completely clear, there is now no mention of meeting the applicable THC limits for products manufactured prior to January 1, 2018 in this newly released update. This should be welcome news to many of you and your distributors.

Please note, however, products manufactured on or after January 1, 2018 still must meet all of the required packaging and applicable THC limits.

We hope the above is helpful. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. Thank you.

Thank you. Todd Winter, WINTER LLP.

Winter LLP Update: Temporary Permits Q&A

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Greetings!

As many of you may already aware, the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) released the Temporary Applications for Retailers, Distributors, Microbusinesses, and Testing Labs, and the Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch (MCSB) released their Temporary Applications for Manufacturers today. CalCannabis has not yet released its Temporary Application for Cultivators.

Please note that there are 3 agencies (BCC, MCSB, and CalCannabis) issuing different license types, and each agency has their own website and different application requirements. Below you will find a brief outline of the required documents and submittal processes from the BCC and MCSB.

We strongly recommend that you contact our office to either (1) assist with completing required application forms; and/or (2) review the required application documents before submittal.

  1. What documents do I need to submit to the BCC as a Retailer, Distributor, Microbusiness, or Testing Lab for a Temporary License?
    1. Temporary License Application
    2. Premises Diagram Form

i. Please carefully review the attached Premises Diagram form in each respective License folder. The requirements are very specific and will likely require the assistance of an architect to draft.

    1. Local Authorization Document
    2. Evidence of Legal Right to Occupy

i. Deed or Title; OR

ii. Lease AND Statement from Property Owner authorizing commercial cannabis activities

  1. How do I submit the Temporary License Application for a Retailer, Distributor, Microbusiness, or Testing Lab?

You will need to create an online account with the BCC (https://www.bcc.ca.gov/). Please see attached “BCC Online Licensing Instructions.” Please note that all required information must be submitted via the online licensing system, including uploading any additional required documents (Premises Diagram, Local Authorization, Evidence of Legal Right to Occupy).

If there is more than 1 owner/applicant, only 1 person needs to submit the application. All other owners will be listed on the application.

There is no application or licensing fee.

  1. What Documents do I need to submit to MCSB as a Manufacturer for a Temporary License?
    1. Temporary License Application
    2. Local Authorization Document
  1. Do I need to submit the Premises Diagram Form or Evidence of Legal Right to Occupy for the Temporary Manufacturing License?

It does not appear that you need to submit the Premises Diagram Form or Evidence of Legal Right to Occupy for the Temporary Manufacturing License.

  1. How do I submit the Temporary License Application for a Manufacturer?

You will need to submit the Application Form and Local Authorization Document via Email OR Mail:

Email to: MCLS@cdph.ca.gov OR

Mail to:

CDPH – Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch Attn: Licensing Unit

PO Box 997377, MS-7606

Sacramento, CA 95899-7377

There is no application or licensing fee.

Thank you, stay safe, and good luck out there! Todd Winter, WINTER LLP.

Please contact us directly with any questions, or if you need assistance.