AB 2842 Cannabis retailers: delivery: vehicles

This bill is part of the 2020 Cannabis Bills section of our ongoing update on California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update which includes information on cannabis bills from other years. 

AB 2842  (McCarty D)   Cannabis retailers: delivery: vehicles

The Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), among other things, generally defines delivery to mean the commercial transfer of cannabis or cannabis products to a customer, limits the delivery of cannabis or cannabis products to only be made by a licensed retailer, microbusiness, or nonprofit, and establishes requirements for the delivery of cannabis and cannabis products, including that an employee of the licensee carry a copy of the licensee’s current license and a government-issued identification with a photo of the employee, such as a driver’s license.

MAUCRSA also requires the Bureau of Cannabis Control to establish minimum security and transportation safety requirements for the delivery of cannabis and cannabis products. Under existing administrative law, among other requirements, a licensed retailer’s delivery employee that is carrying cannabis goods for delivery is only allowed to travel in an enclosed motor vehicle. Under existing administrative law, among other requirements, a licensed retailer’s delivery employee is prohibited from carrying cannabis goods in the delivery vehicle with a value in excess of $5,000 at any time and the value of cannabis goods carried in the delivery vehicle for which a delivery order was not received and processed by the licensed retailer prior to the delivery employee departing from the licensed premises may not exceed $3,000.

This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2022, the regulations established by the bureau regarding the minimum security and transportation safety requirements to include regulations that would allow for different value tiers of cannabis goods to be carried during delivery of those cannabis goods to customers by employees of a licensed retailer based on the type of vehicle used for the delivery, including bicycles and motorcycles, as specified. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2022, the bureau, in coordination with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, to develop transportation safety standards for all the different value tiers of cannabis goods carried during delivery to customers by employees of a licensed retailer based on the type of vehicle used for the delivery, as specified, and to develop a standardized inspection and certification process for each delivery vehicle based on the transportation safety standards developed pursuant to this bill, including the form of the certifications, to be implemented on and after January 1, 2023.

Under existing administrative law, a delivery employee of a licensed retailer may only carry cannabis goods in the delivery vehicle and may only perform deliveries for one licensed retailer at a time. Existing administrative law also requires a delivery employee of a licensed retailer to depart and return to the same licensed premises before taking possession of any cannabis goods from another licensee to perform deliveries.

This bill would codify those administrative law provisions.

The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act authorizes the Legislature to amend the act to further the purposes and intent of the act with a 2/3 vote of the membership of both houses of the Legislature.

This bill would declare that its provisions further specified purposes and intent of the act.

Read more about California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update.

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