The Momma Blog: The Rules About Children on a “Licensed Premise”

The Momma Blog:
The Rules About Children on a “Licensed Premise”

By Heather Burke

I’ve been asked several times about the ability to have children at one’s regulated commercial cannabis business, and the question always reminds me of those days when my girlfriends would strap their babies onto their back and get to work out in the garden. Sadly, those days are long gone and the new rule is clear:

No one under 21 is allowed on a “licensed premises” at any time.

No Rules Under the Collective/Co-op Resulted in Discriminatory Application of Child Welfare Rules.

Under the old rules, commercial cannabis activity was “unregulated,” meaning there were no rules except (1) the cannabis had to be cultivated, processed, or distributed to patient-members of a (2) collective or cooperative that (3) was not engaged in a profit making enterprise. Without rules for children, the primary consideration  was whether the child would suffer physical harm as a result of the parent’s inability to physically care for the child. (Check out the brilliant Jen Ani’s overview HERE.)

In most cannabis cases, the child was not at risk of harm unless the child had easy access to cannabis, or where there was inherent danger in the cannabis activity itself, such as with BHO manufacturing. However, due to the lack of certainty in the rules and cannabis discrimination by child welfare workers, application of the standard was often dependent upon the particular CPS’ worker’s view on cannabis. Unsurprisingly, I observed wealthy white parents treated with far more deference than African American and Latino parents for identical conduct, which is unacceptable on every level.

The New Rules are Clear: No Kids On the “Licensed Premises”.

California statutory law now clearly restricts a licensee from allowing anyone under 21 years of age from entering “its premises,” except that someone over 18 can enter a medical dispensary if-and-only-if they have a physician’s recommendation. (Cal. Business & Professions Code § 26140 (a)(2), (c)(1)-(2).)

Interestingly though, the regulations are less clear. Indeed, the regulations only address minors being on a retailer’s licensed premise, though none of the three regulatory packages address the effect of a child being on a farm, a manufacturing site, a distributor, testing lab, or microbusiness’ “licensed premise.” Nor do any of the three regulation packages set out a penalty for violating this statute

Thus, while it is not yet clear to me what a violation of the statute would look like for a licensee, we can presume it is a serious violation with severe consequences for the license holder.

When the Property is the Same as the “Licensed Premise”

Keep in mind that when you submitted your annual or temporary license application to the state, you had to submit a Property and/or Premises Diagram. If the Property and the Premises in those diagrams is the same, then your entire property is considered the “licensed premises.”

The legal effect of not carving out any non-cannabis areas in your Property Diagram is:

  1. Children are now arguably excluded from the entire property; and
  2. Law enforcement can arguably search an entire “licensed premises” without cause. (*This  is a whole other topic I won’t get into here.)

Thus, for those folks with children on site, it is imperative they re-define their licensed premises to exclude the home and the places children will be. For sites with homes on them, it is as simple as drawing the “premises boundary” around the home. For industrial or commercial sites, a break area or other safe space for a nursing mother to bring her child can sometimes be carved out of the “licensed premises” floor-plans.

Child Welfare Rules are Still in Effect

Although this blog focuses on the rules regarding children in “licensed premise,” note that child welfare rules relating to use of cannabis in the home or around children are still in effect. As such, child welfare workers will continue to hold preconceived notions about cannabis use, so wise parents will continue to ensure their children do not have access to the parents’ personal-use cannabis and that parents don’t consume cannabis near the children.

Final Analysis/Conclusion

Gone are the days of carrying babies in slings while mama and papa work the garden.

However, as CAMP-style raids and law enforcement actions against unregulated operators are already at a feverish peak this summer, regulated farmers and other licensees with young children can rest in the peace of knowing their business (and their family) will make it through the season unscathed by deputies arriving at 7:00 a.m. with a warrant.

For most families, that trade off will be worth it.

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