State of California Department of Justice
Rob Bonta
Attorney General
Attorney General
The Cannabis Control Section provides representation to state regulatory and law enforcement agencies in civil actions and administrative proceedings related to licensed and unlicensed commercial cannabis activity, including cultivation, manufacturing, testing, transporting, distributing, retail sales, and temporary cannabis events. Deputies within the Cannabis Control Section handle complex, sensitive, and often high-profile civil litigation matters as well as licensing matters involving the revocation, denial, and discipline of licenses, and the embargo and condemnation of misbranded goods.
Senior Assistant Attorney General: Harinder Kapur
Offices: Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, and San Francisco
State Water Resources Control Board et al. v. Joshua Sweet (2019): Injunction preventing defendants from further illegal diversion/use of water for cannabis cultivation, and requiring defendants to remediate the property, plus money damages, including disgorgement of profits derived from unfair business practices.
County of Santa Cruz et al. v. Bureau of Cannabis Control (2020): Denying plaintiffs’, twenty-four local jurisdictions, request to invalidate a regulation allowing for the delivery of cannabis and cannabis products throughout California.
Alliance for the Fair Access to Cryptocurrency Terminals v. Dept. of Financial Protection and Innovation (2024): Upholding SB 401, which caps at $1000 daily transactions on crypto kiosks, against due process, equal protection, and takings challenges in order sustaining demurrer without leave to amend.
U.S. Hemp Roundtable v. California Department of Public Health et al. (2024): Denying plaintiffs’, manufacturers and sellers of intoxicating industrial hemp products, request for a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement, and to also invalidate newly issued emergency regulations concerning industrial hemp final food products for human consumption. After which plaintiffs dismissed their case.
Ctrl. Alt. Destroy v. Department of Cannabis Control et al. (2024): Dismissing with prejudice a licensed retailer’s allegations that the Labor Peace Agreement (LPA) requirements for licensed commercial cannabis operators are unconstitutional and preempted by the NLRA.