2024-105 Department of Cannabis Control
Unclear Rules and Insufficient Enforcement Hamper Its Ability to Identify Packaging That Is Attractive to Children
Published: August 7, 2025
Audit Recommendations Disclosure
When an audit is completed and a report is issued, auditees must provide the State Auditor with information regarding their progress in implementing recommendations from our reports at three intervals from the release of the report: 60 days, six months, and one year. Additionally, Senate Bill 1452 (Chapter 452, Statutes of 2006), requires auditees who have not implemented recommendations after one year, to report to us and to the Legislature why they have not implemented them or to state when they intend to implement them. Below is a listing of each recommendation the State Auditor made in the report referenced and a link to the most recent response from the auditee addressing their progress in implementing the recommendation and the State Auditor’s assessment of auditee’s response based on our review of the supporting documentation.
Recommendations to the Legislature
Recommendation 1
To ensure that cannabis products’ packaging is not attractive to children, the Legislature should consider requiring DCC to develop a process, similar to Oregon’s, requiring cannabis licensees to use pre-approved plain packaging or, for a fee, have DCC review their packaging for compliance before their cannabis products are available for sale.
Agency response status:
Pending
Recommendation 2
To increase the likelihood that DCC will identify packages that are attractive to children, the Legislature should consider increasing the specificity of prohibited design elements, such as–but not limited to–certain fonts and colors, images implying flavor, and images of human and nonhuman creatures.
Agency response status:
Pending
Recommendation 3
To ensure that cannabis beverage consumers can properly identify a single serving, the Legislature should consider the following:
- Require easy understanding and measurement of serving sizes, such as through an included measuring device, in a manner similar to Washington State.
- Establish a cap on the amount of THC in one cannabis beverage container to 10 mg.
Agency response status:
Pending
Recommendation 4
To reduce the risk of cannabis appealing to minors through the use of flavors that mask the natural flavor and aroma of cannabis, the Legislature should consider banning specific flavors that are attractive to children in inhaled cannabis products and to prohibit the advertising of such flavors.
Agency response status:
Pending
Recommendation 5
To ensure that the names of cannabis strains are not attractive to children, the Legislature should consider prohibiting the advertising of cannabis strain names that could be attractive to children.
Agency response status:
Pending
Recommendations to the California Dept. of Cannabis Control
Recommendation 6
To ensure that DCC consistently identifies attractive cannabis packages, by August 2026 DCC should complete implementation of a rubric for determining whether products violate legal prohibitions against packaging attractive to children. The rubric should clearly describe prohibited design elements, and DCC should make the rubric available to licensees as well as to the public. DCC should also include the rubric in its regulations.
Agency response status:
Pending
Recommendation 7
To prevent repeat offenses, DCC should specify guidelines by February 2026 regarding escalation of compliance actions and should ensure that all inspections and complaints included a review of previous actions issued. For example, DCC should specify the number of repeat offenses required before DCC issues a citation.
Agency response status:
Pending
Recommendation 8
To effectively communicate its goals with internal and external stakeholders, by August 2026 DCC should include specific performance metrics related to its goals and objectives in its next strategic plan.
Agency response status:
Pending
