Pour out some cannabidiol for one of L.A.’s biggest beverage trends, because CBD cocktails will soon disappear—as if in a puff of smoke—from bar menus across California.
On September 27, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 2914, which outlaws any bar or restaurant’s addition of tetrahydrocannabinol or cannabinoids to drinks, as first reported by Eater. Not to be confused with THC, the cannabis substance primarily in question is cannabidiol, or CBD, a chemical compound that contains no psychotropic—read: trippy—properties, but is believed to offer calming and even healing effects.
“This bill would prohibit an alcoholic beverage licensee from, at its licensed premises, selling, offering, or providing cannabis or cannabis products, including an alcoholic beverage that contains cannabis or cannabis products,” AB 2914 states. And on the flip side, the bill also states that cannabis licensees are not to sell alcoholic beverages.
Restaurants and bars found in violation of the law could face alcohol-license suspension or even revocation. The bill’s language does not include an enaction date, though the current status of its non-urgency, non-tax-levy action codes indicates that the law won’t swing into effect until January 1, 2019.
A whopping 78 assembly members voted in favor of the law, while only two abstained or were not present—David Chiu and Phil Ting—and there were zero votes against it.
Gov. Brown had a busy week for cannabis regulation; in addition to signing AB 2914, he vetoed a measure that would allow medical CBD in schools, as well as signed AB 2215, which classifies veterinary administration of cannabis for animals as a misdemeanor. But it wasn’t all bad for fans of cannabidiol: For what it’s worth, he also approved SB 1459, which would establish provisional licenses for cannabis businesses—a boon for those currently without a full annual permit, whose licenses would have expired at the end of the year.
Sadly, for those of us who’ve been enjoying L.A.’s onslaught of CBD cocktails, it looks like we’re reaching the bottom of the glass. Our advice? Get it in while you still can—before January 1.