Since the inception of Lowell Farms Inc, we have made it a point to weave sustainability into the very fabric of our brand. Lowell has long been recognized for natural packaging and sustainable cultivation practices – characteristics that we're proud of and work hard to uphold. However, our company’s aspirations and sustainability goals seem to be at odds with the state government's own agenda.

In 2018, The Medicinal and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act introduced new standards for how cannabis is to be packaged across the state. Although well-intentioned, it’s become clear that the guidelines set forth are creating an acutely wasteful ecosystem, in which cannabis operators are forced to over-package their products at the expense of the environment.

That is why we are taking action. Today, we put forth this petition to urge Governor Gavin Newsom to heed our concerns and rectify the unethical packaging regulations set forth in The Medicinal and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act. Though the instances in which the current regulations over-step are numerous, here are the immediate steps Gov. Newsom should take in order to make the most impact on reducing the cannabis industry's carbon footprint:

• Reduce the Scope of Child Resistant Packaging: for products such as raw flower and pre-rolls, child resistant packaging is not necessary – especially when considering these products are not chemically active until they can be heated and inhaled. It is unfair and unethical to allow big tobacco, alcohol, and other adult-facing industries to operate under more lax conditions while marketing products that can be similarly harmful.
• Limit Requirements for Resealable Packaging: countless brands utilize unrecyclable materials such as mylar bags to ensure packaging is considered “resealable.” This is why many brands in the cannabis industry utilize multi-layered packaging (a box inside a bag, for instance). Limiting this requirement to fewer product categories will greatly reduce the amount of mylar bags being flushed into the market and into landfills.
• Update Labeling Requirements: today, every product must be labeled with a long list of cautionary icons, government warnings, health warnings, testing information, batch information, and more. The extent of required language that must appear on the exterior of every package puts increased pressure on cannabis operators to use larger packaging sizes that is necessary, or in many cases, utilize multi-layered packaging such as mylar bags.

Each of these singular points present their own challenges when it comes to sustainable packaging practices, but collectively, these requirements are the reason why every cannabis consumer in California is purchasing more packaging by volume than actual cannabis.

There are hundreds of cannabis operators today who are just fighting for a seat at the table in this industry (Lowell included), but the burdens of over-regulation – and in this case, packaging regulations – translates to thousands of extra hours of labor, millions of additional dollars in packaging costs and, ultimately, an influx of plastics and other packaging materials that unnecessarily inflate the carbon footprint of the cannabis industry as a whole.

It is time for California to end its unfair attempts to keep the cannabis industry down and finally put forth policy that fosters prosperity without unnecessarily harming cannabis operators, consumers, and our planet.

Join us in signing this petition to tell Gov. Gavin Newsom we want a greener future for the cannabis industry.