Verify · Checklist
Before you buy: questions to ask about a store or product
Ask these questions before you buy cannabis. If the answer to any of them is “no” or “I can’t tell,” stop and check. The details here are for California; other states have similar rules.
Checked against the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) on . Next review: .
CHSA does not test, certify or endorse products or retailers.
Questions to ask
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Can you see the store’s state QR code certificate?
In California, licensed stores open to the public must post a DCC QR code certificate in the front window, near the entrance.1 Delivery drivers must carry a copy.
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Does the state record match, and is the license Active?
Scan the code or search the license. The name and address should match where you are buying. How to check a California license.
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Did they check your ID?
Licensed retailers may not sell adult-use cannabis to anyone under 21.2 A seller who skips the ID check is a warning sign.
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Is the product sealed in child-resistant packaging?
Licensed packages must be tamper-evident and child-resistant. Edibles must be in packaging you can’t see through.1
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Does the label have the universal symbol and a government warning?
California labels must show the cannabis universal symbol, a bold “GOVERNMENT WARNING”, and THC in milligrams per serving and per package.3
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Is the dose within the legal limit?
Licensed edibles in California have no more than 10 mg THC per serving and 100 mg per package.1 A higher-dose edible can be a sign it didn’t come from the licensed market.
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Is it a product California has banned?
Since January 1, 2026, California bans selling hemp vapes and other inhalable hemp products with THC, hemp flower and pre-rolls, products with synthetic cannabinoids, and alcoholic drinks with cannabinoids.5
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Has the product been recalled?
Keep the package. Recalls list products by batch or UID number.6 Check the latest California recalls.
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Does the deal seem too good to be true?
Prices far below licensed stores, sales from a car or a social media account, or no receipt can be signs of an unlicensed seller.
Licensed and unlicensed products compared
Based on California rules.4 Licensed doesn’t mean risk-free: licensed products are still recalled sometimes, and cannabis has health risks of its own.
Lab testing
- Licensed (regulated) market
- Must be tested by a licensed lab before sale, including for pesticides, heavy metals, microbes, mycotoxins and solvents.
- Unlicensed (unregulated) market
- No required testing. You can’t tell what, if anything, was tested.
Labels
- Licensed (regulated) market
- Must show the universal symbol, a government warning, and THC in milligrams per serving and per package.
- Unlicensed (unregulated) market
- No label rules. Labels can be missing, copied or wrong.
Packaging
- Licensed (regulated) market
- Must be child-resistant and tamper-evident. Edibles are capped at 10 mg THC per serving.
- Unlicensed (unregulated) market
- No packaging or dose rules. Some products look like candy.
Recalls
- Licensed (regulated) market
- The state can order recalls and publishes them, so you can check your product.
- Unlicensed (unregulated) market
- No recall system. You won’t hear about a problem batch.
Who answers for it
- Licensed (regulated) market
- A licensed business you can look up and report to the state.
- Unlicensed (unregulated) market
- No license to look up. You can still report unlicensed sellers to the state.
Regulation reduces important categories of preventable risk; it doesn’t make cannabis risk-free.
Sources
- DCC regulations, Cal. Code Regs. tit. 4, div. 19 (revised July 1, 2026)
- Business and Professions Code § 26140 (no adult-use sales to anyone under 21)
- Business and Professions Code § 26120 (packaging and labeling)
- Business and Professions Code § 26100 (testing by a licensed laboratory before sale)
- AB 8 (2025), Cannabis: cannabinoids: industrial hemp (Stats. 2025, ch. 248)
- Cannabis recalls and safety notices
CHSA does not test, certify or endorse products or retailers.