WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

AB 2250

Cannabis: cannabinoids.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Cecilia Aguiar-Curry

Gives tobacco retailers and authorities clearer authority to seize, penalize, and regulate cannabis products at tobacco sites, funded by the Tobacco Compliance Fund.

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on REV. & TAX. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 15). Re-referred to Com. on REV. & TAX.
#cannabis #cannabinoids
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · AB 2250

Overview

AB 2250 (2025-2026) by Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry proposes amendments to multiple codes to align California’s Cannabis Tax Law, Health and Safety Code, and related enforcement provisions with recent changes stemming from AB 8 (Chapter 248, 2025). The bill focuses on cannabinoid products (including CBD and CBN) and imposes clarified enforcement, seizure, and penalty provisions for products presumed to be cannabis or cannabis products when sold by businesses such as tobacco retailers. It also updates definitions related to concentrates and strengthens enforcement authority and funding mechanisms tied to the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act.

Main purpose and intent

  • Clarify how products containing cannabinoids are treated under California law, particularly in the context of enforcement, seizures, and taxation.
  • Align the Cannabis Tax Law and related enforcement regimes with AB 8’s framework governing industrial hemp, CBD/CBN isolates, and cannabinoid-containing products.
  • Expand and standardize enforcement tools (seizures, penalties) for unlicensed activity and products presumed to be cannabis.
  • Extend the scope of the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund to cover cannabis-related enforcement and destruction costs.

Key provisions and changes

  • Business and Professions Code (Section 22980.6):

    • Prohibits an entity engaged in selling cigarettes or tobacco products from possessing, storing, owning, or retailing cannabis or cannabis products at sites where tobacco is stored or sold.
    • Creates a presumption that a product containing or purporting to contain a cannabinoid (including synthetic cannabinoids) is a cannabis product, with rebuttals if the product complies with the Sherman Health and Safety Code or meets industrial hemp definitions.
    • Authorizes the Department to seize cannabis/cannabis products found at such locations, with procedures for forfeiture and connection to existing track-and-trace or regulatory frameworks.
    • Establishes civil penalties for violations, escalating with each subsequent violation (first: $1,000-$2,000; second: $2,000-$5,000 plus license suspension; third: $5,000-$10,000 plus license revocation).
    • Requires penalties to be deposited into the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund.

  • Business and Professions Code (Section 22990) and Health/Revenue Code references:

    • Funds collected under this act would be used for implementing, enforcing, and administering the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act, including seizure and destruction of cannabis and related products.

  • Health and Safety Code (Section 11006.5):

    • Revises definitions of “concentrated cannabis”:
    • Before 2026: means separated resin.
    • 2026-2028: broadens to include extracts, oils, hash, dab, shatter, rosin, wax, etc.
    • 2028 onward: CBD isolate and CBN isolate are excluded from “cannabis concentrate.”
    • This creates a staged timeline for how concentrates are defined as potency focuses shift.

  • Revenue and Taxation Code (Section 34010 and 34016):

    • Updates long-standing Cannabis Tax Law terminology and definitions (e.g., “Cannabis,” “Cannabis products,” “Medicinal cannabis/patient,” etc.) to reflect broader usage and align with AB 8 provisions.
    • Incorporates updated terms for administrative purposes (arm’s-length transactions, average market price, etc.) and broadens definitions to include medicinal cannabis and medicinal concentrates where applicable.
    • Grants inspection authority to peace officers or limited peace officers to enter and inspect locations involved in cannabis activities, with a cap of one inspection per 24-hour period.
    • Provides penalties for refusal of inspections and clarifies seizure authorities for noncompliant or unlicensed activities.

Who or what would be affected

  • Tobacco retailers and businesses that sell cigarettes or tobacco products, particularly those that also handle cannabis or cannabinoid-containing products.
  • Cannabis businesses across the supply chain (retailers, cultivators, manufacturers, distributors) indirectly through enforcement actions and seizure authorities.
  • Local agencies and state tax/fee authorities involved in cannabis product regulation and enforcement.
  • Consumers of cannabinoid products, insofar as products may be treated as cannabis products under enforcement rules.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • The concentrate definitions are phased:
    • Pre-2026: existing definition of concentrated cannabis remains.
    • 2026–2028: broadened definition to include more potency-focused concentrates.
    • 2028 onward: explicit exclusion of CBD isolate and CBN isolate from “cannabis concentrate.”
  • AB 2250 references AB 8’s conforming changes and emphasizes alignment with AB 8 provisions moving forward to 2028 and beyond.
  • Funding changes: enforcement funding would be drawn from the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund for seizure, destruction, and enforcement related to cannabis products.

Practical impact

  • Increased regulatory overlap and potential penalties for tobacco retailers who handle cannabis products or cannabinoids outside of appropriate licensing.
  • Stronger, clearer enforcement tools for unlicensed cannabis activities, including seizures and civil penalties.
  • Codified funding stream for enforcement activities, potentially increasing state and local capacity to regulate and destroy illicit or noncompliant cannabis products.
  • Progressively clearer definitions of concentrates that could affect how products are taxed, regulated, and prosecuted in the coming years.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.