OLCC To Issue Emergency Vaping Rules October 11, 2019

On Friday, October 11, 2019, at 11:30 am the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) will will hold a special meeting on the topic of new vaping rules in response to Gov. Brown’s call for a temporary ban on certain vape products.   The OLCC Commissioners after a presentation by OLCC staff are likely to impose a ban on the manufacture and sales of cannabis vape products that contain added flavors.  The OLCC has signaled that terpenes derived from cannabis will not be consider “added flavors.”

What will be considered added flavors are terepenes derived from other botanical sources as well as non-natural terpenes. This means that OLCC processors who currently are allowed to add botanically derived terpenes from plants other than cannabis will have to submit their new formulas to the OLCC for approval before they can manufacture vape products again. It is possible the OLCC will speed up the process of approving new formulas, as many processors will be forced to halt production and incur a loss of revenue.  With many processors basically living “paycheck to paycheck,” any long delay in approving new formulas could force many processors to permanently close.

The agenda for the meeting is posted here: https://www.oregon.gov/olcc/docs/commission_agendas/2019/commission_agenda__special_101119.pdf

The OLCC and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) will hold a press conference shortly after the OLCC meeting to “explain the implications of and the implementation process of their respective temporary rules which establish a temporary ban on the sale of flavored nicotine and THC vaping products.”