BCC Announces Changes to Cannabis Billboard Regulations

Late last year, the Superior Court of San Luis Obispo ruled that California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) exceeded their authority in allowing cannabis advertising on billboards along California highways. The BCC had interpreted provisions of Proposition 64, which legalized cannabis in California, to ban cannabis billboards from being located within a 15-mile radius of the state border on an interstate highway or on a state highway that crossed the California border.

In February, the BCC filed an action with the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to strike this provision from their regulations, and the OAL approved the petition for removal on May 19, 2021. The change to California’s cannabis billboard advertising provisions became effective that same day. This means that all billboards with cannabis advertising on any highway that crosses the state border (eg: I-5, I-80, or US-101) must be removed.

Updated state cannabis billboard regulations can be found here and the BCC’s justification for the change can be found here.