California Auditor Says Cannabis Packaging is ‘Too Attractive’ to Children, Calls Industry Rules ‘Unclear’

A recent audit from California’s State Auditor suggests that cannabis packaging is too “attractive to children” and that “unclear rules and insufficient enforcement” by the state Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) hamper the agency’s ability to identify packaging that runs afoul of state rules.  

The auditor’s report found that more than half of the products reviewed from retail websites – 23 of 40 products – were likely attractive to children. The auditor determined that products that could be attractive to children because they included images of foods – some that mimic children’s treats, such as crispy rice treats – colorful fonts and cartoon images, and other design elements that could appeal to youth. The auditor’s report noted that sometimes it disagreed with the DCC determination that a product’s package could be attractive to children, such as a package for crispy rice treats that shows only the cereal on the package rather than the treat itself. 

The report found a drastic 469% increase in the total number of calls to the California Poison Control System related to cannabis ingestion among children age five and younger with 148 calls in 2016 – the year voters passed the legalization law – to 842 calls in 2023.  

The auditor’s office found that the DCC “does not conduct enough inspections to ensure that it identifies problems proactively” and inspected fewer than half of its licensees each year since 2022.  

“Additionally, DCC does not consistently document licensees’ compliance history during inspections and complaint evaluations, which means that the department cannot ensure that it always identifies repeat offenders. Our analysis of DCC’s records showed one licensee with at least four compliance actions related to attractive packaging, but we found no evidence that DCC ever escalated penalties for that licensee.” — 2024-105 Department of Cannabis Control, California State Auditor, 8/7/25 

The report also notes that the DCC does not adequately prohibit flavors and strain names that are attractive to children, despite 2022 DCC regulations imposing new requirements that forbid the mention of specific flavors in inhaled cannabis products. The auditor’s report points out that strain names, such as Cherry Pie, Tropicana Punch, and Lemon Cherry Gelato, were still being advertised despite the 2022 rules. 

In an accompanying letter to the governor and legislative leaders, State Auditor Grant Parks wrote that the “DCC does not adequately discipline the cannabis businesses that it licenses who repeatedly violate regulations regarding attractiveness to children.”

“DCC’s inspectors do not have consistent documentation practices, and we could not conclude that DCC consistently checks a licensee’s compliance history when evaluating whether that licensee is selling a cannabis product with packaging that is attractive to children,” Parks wrote. “We also determined that the department does not consistently increase penalties for licensees who repeatedly violate the department’s regulations.” 

California Auditor Says Cannabis Packaging is Too ‘Attractive’ to Children, Calls Cannabis Agency Rules ‘Unclear’