California Governor Vetoes Bill to Allow Medical Cannabis Home Shipments
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a widely supported bill on Oct. 11 that would have allowed licensed microbusinesses to ship medical cannabis directly to patients’ homes, marking a significant setback for patient-access advocates in the state that first legalized medical marijuana nearly three decades ago.
The measure, Assembly Bill 1332, sponsored by Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens (D–Silicon Valley), passed the California Legislature unanimously—39-0 in the Senate and 78-0 in the Assembly—before reaching the governor’s desk. Despite the broad bipartisan support, Newsom rejected the bill, citing administrative burdens and high implementation costs.
Newsom Cites Complexity and Costs
In his veto message, Gov. Newsom said that while he supports expanding patient access, the direct-shipping program proposed under A.B. 1332 would be “burdensome and overly complex to administer.”
“The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) would need to revamp California’s cannabis track-and-trace system, which will take significant resources and time,” Newsom said. “Moreover, this measure includes numerous restrictions on eligible products—many of which are unclear, overly narrow, or unworkable, adding to the implementation challenge.”
A fiscal analysis by the Senate Appropriations Committee estimated that the DCC would face one-time costs of $269,000 to update its tracking systems and annual costs of $472,000 for oversight and compliance monitoring. However, those expenses represent less than 0.05% of California’s taxable cannabis revenue last year, according to state data.
Newsom also noted that the legislation would have applied to only two eligible businesses statewide, saying the costs outweighed the limited benefits.
A Lifeline Rejected for Struggling Patients
Under A.B. 1332, licensed microbusinesses holding a medicinal designation—and authorized for retail, manufacturing, distribution, and outdoor cultivation—would have been allowed to ship medical cannabis directly to qualified patients using common carriers like UPS or FedEx.
The bill’s backers, including The Society for Cannabis Physicians, argued the measure would have provided essential relief for patients who are unable to travel or who live in areas where medical dispensaries are unavailable.
“This bill is a crucial step toward ensuring that patients with severe and complex medical conditions can access the medicine they need,” the society said in a statement. “Since the implementation of Proposition 64 in 2018, the availability of medical cannabis products has declined significantly due to regulatory burdens, high taxation, and the prioritization of adult-use products over medicinal formulations.”
Medical Market in Sharp Decline
Newsom’s veto arrives as California’s medical cannabis market continues to contract sharply, with sales projected to fall below $200 million in 2025—just 4% of the state’s total licensed cannabis sales, according to the DCC. In comparison, medical cannabis sales reached $540 million in 2021, and more than $2.5 billion less than a decade ago, according to industry estimates.
Advocates say a combination of high taxes, declining product diversity, and limited retail access has driven patients away from the legal market and back to unregulated sources.
In a 2024 letter to Newsom, a coalition of more than 150 cannabis trade, labor, advocacy, and patient organizations called for tax exemptions for medical patients, arguing that California’s 15% excise tax on cannabis at retail is a barrier to affordable medicine.
“Prior to adult-use legalization, there were millions of California patients with doctor’s recommendations,” the coalition wrote. “Post-legalization, due to unbearably high taxes, medical cannabis patients have been forced to seek their medicine in the unregulated market, where untested products have proven dangerous to their health.”
The Accessibility Gap
Even though California voters first legalized medical cannabis in 1996 under Proposition 215, and the state later merged medical and recreational oversight under the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) in 2016, access remains inconsistent.
According to the DCC, 57% of California cities and counties still prohibit cannabis dispensaries altogether, leaving large areas of the state without reliable access to legal cannabis products.
While state lawmakers passed a 2022 measure requiring all jurisdictions to allow some form of medical cannabis access, many communities still lack delivery services or dispensaries that stock specialized medical formulations.
Patients Left Behind
Supporters of A.B. 1332, including patients and healthcare professionals, say the veto leaves medically fragile individuals without options.
Assemblymember Ahrens said the legislation was designed to help patients with conditions such as epilepsy, advanced cancers, multiple sclerosis, and neurodegenerative disorders—people who often rely on specialized tinctures, oils, and formulations that most adult-use dispensaries no longer carry.
“As a result, many patients—particularly those with serious illnesses—are struggling to obtain effective medical cannabis products,” Ahrens said. “California’s vast geography further exacerbates this issue, as many patients live in areas where specialized products are not available locally and cannot travel long distances to find them.”
Physician Dr. Laurie Vollen, who testified in support of the bill, said California’s medical cannabis patients have become “orphans” in a market dominated by adult-use sales.
“It might seem counterintuitive, but 29 years after medicinal marijuana was legalized in California, medicinal products have become virtually extinct,” Vollen said. “No dispensary or delivery service has a full complement of products suitable for the needs of a variety of patients, especially cannabis-naive individuals seeking safe alternatives to pharmaceuticals.”
Newsom Leaves Door Open for Future Solutions
Despite rejecting A.B. 1332, Gov. Newsom said he remains open to working with lawmakers on “strategies to effectively advance equitable access to safe medical cannabis.”
Proponents of the bill had included a three-year sunset clause, allowing legislators to revisit and refine the program after implementation. With the governor’s veto, those plans are on hold but advocates say the fight to restore patient-centered access will continue.
