Advocacy

CDFA regulation 8207(h) allows cannabis to be moved without prior approval to prevent loss, theft, or degradation of cannabis due to a disaster. The rules for this are:

• The cannabis must be moved to a secure location where access to the cannabis is restricted to the licensee, its employees, and contractors.
• The licensee should notify CDFA in writing within 24 hours that they are requesting relief from complying with specific licensing requirements.
• Within ten days, the licensee should notify CDFA in writing a request for temporary relief that clearly indicates the statutory and regulatory sections from which relief is requested, the time period for which the relief is requested, and the reasons relief is needed for the specified amount of time.
• The licensee must provide inspection access to CDFA.

If you need to file a disaster-relief request send an email to [email protected] with "Disaster-Relief Request" in the subject line. if you’re unable to access your email account, please call them at 1-833-CALGROW (1-833-225-4769) and be prepared to provide:

• Business name(s)
• License number(s)
• Name of the Designated Responsible Party (DRP)
• DRP’s contact information

For more information visit the state's CalCannabis website at: http://calcannabis.cdfa.ca.gov/

For disaster preparedness educational information please visit our Wildfire Support page

ICFA is building a coalition of organizations and stakeholders to provide support for a tax relief refund program for all Cannabis cultivators in the state of California. The program, called the Simplified Method Allowing Refunded Taxes (SMART) Tax Proposal would provide tax refunds on the first 500 lbs of product sold.  If you or your organization is interested in supporting the initiative, please sign the petition or use the contact page to let us know.

In 2019, the ICFA was fortunate to participate in the CalCannabis Appellation Working Group (AWG). We then continued the discussion among our member community and this document provides the results which were submitted to the California Department of Food and Agriculture addressing a variety of topics including:

1. Cannabis Appellations
2. Regenerative Farming Practices
3. Barriers to Entering the Licensed Marketplace
4. Tax Incentive Programs
5. Sun Grown Cannabis Commissions

State Water Resource Control Board has proposed a new $4,750 fee for Small Irrigation Use Registrations. The following letter of opposition was submitted as part of the public comment input provided to the agency.

Appellations paper submitted to the World Health Organization by coalition of Civil Society Organizations, including ICFA, that advocate for regulatory, distributive and redistributive public policy reform for Cannabis.

Members of our sister organization, the International Cannabis Farmers Alliance, converged to meet with officials in the California capital to raise awareness on the needs and challenges of sustainable Cannabis farmers.

"The Cannabis Hour" discussion of appellations for labeling Cannabis products.

"The Cannabis Show" discussion about Agricultural Commissions for the Cannabis Industry.

This infographic provides an overview of how the California Department of Food & Agriculture's CalCannabis division fared in 2018.