While channel surfing a few weeks ago, I came across 'Up in Smoke,' the cult-classic movie starring Cheech & Chong. The comedy duo met in Tommy Chong's native Vancouver after Cheech Marin moved there from L.A. in 1969 to avoid the draft.
"Up in Smoke" was the first of seven movies featuring the pair, in addition to numerous comedy albums. Cheech & Chong found commercial and cultural success in the 1970s and 1980s with their comedy which was based on the hippie and free love era, and especially the drug and counterculture movements, most notably their love for cannabis.
It's their love for cannabis that have caused the duo to actually sue the State of California.
Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Public Health recently issued an emergency order banning all hemp products with "any detectable quantity of THC." As a result, retailers can no longer sell any products made with hemp THC to California customers, which includes non-intoxicating CBD medicinal products used by millions of residents statewide. The emergency regulations took effect on Sept. 23 and will remain in place until March 25, 2025.
At a press conference in Sacramento on Sept. 6 to announce the order, Newsom said the cannabis industry is taking advantage of an unregulated market and enticing kids with THC products marketed to a young audience through gummies, candies and drinks. "Intentionally trying to manipulate our children. Available everywhere. Gummies directly targeted to our kids. It's a disgrace and it's a shame," Newsom claimed.
"We're going to take it to the next level and make sure enforcement is out there, so young people in particular are protected," added Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency.
CBD advocates, however, argue that the emergency regulations are too broad. While they concede that industry regulations are necessary, they should not punish people who rely on non-intoxicating CBD products, some of whom are the most vulnerable populations in the state.
CBD products are used medicinally to treat many conditions, including severe and chronic pain, the side effects of cancer treatments, epilepsy and seizures, Alzheimer's disease, ALS and MS, Crohn's disease, glaucoma, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome and similar inflammatory diseases, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Many of the users of CBD products are children, the elderly and veterans.
So, Cheech & Chong Cannabis Co. is one of six hemp companies, including Juicetiva, Blaze Life, Boldt Runners, Lucky to be Beverage and Sunflora, that have filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Public Health, and its director, Dr. Tomás Aragón. Other plaintiffs in the suit include 50 unnamed "John Does" and the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, a trade group that represents the multi-billion dollar industry.
"This draconian regulation alone will essentially devastate an emerging industry that consists largely of small business owners. It's akin to requiring candy to stop containing sugar ... starting tomorrow," the lawsuit reads. "Overnight, major swaths of the hemp and hemp products industries in California became immediately illegal," the lawsuit reads.
The hope is that the two sides can find an acceptable compromise to allow CBD products to get to the people who truly need it while keeping it out of the hands of children.
For when it comes to regulating the drug trade, Cheech & Chong Cannabis Co.'s tagline sums it up perfectly: "Responsibility is a heavy responsibility, man."