SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California’s new ban on disposable vapes expressly excludes cannabis products, leaving cannabis brands and retailers without a hardware phaseout deadline under the legislation.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 762 September 28. Beginning January 1, 2027, the law prohibits importing or manufacturing disposable, battery-embedded vaporizers for sale in California. Selling, distributing, or offering the devices for sale becomes prohibited January 1, 2028. The statute defines covered devices as containing a tobacco product, “but not cannabis or a cannabis product.”
For cannabis manufacturers and retailers, the distinction means AB 762 does not require replacing integrated vapes with reusable hardware or clearing cannabis vape inventory before those dates.
The exemption does not remove California’s existing requirements for how cannabis vape products are marketed, labeled, and discarded.
Department of Cannabis Control guidance states packaging and labeling for cannabis cartridges and integrated vaporizers cannot indicate or imply the products are disposable, may be thrown in the trash, or belong in ordinary recycling streams. Advertising and marketing materials also must display specified messaging directing consumers to dispose of spent cartridges and empty integrated vaporizers as hazardous waste at an appropriate collection facility.
Brands and retailers therefore have a practical reason to review packaging, product descriptions, and promotional materials even though their hardware is excluded from the new ban. A device can remain available for sale while language describing it as “disposable” creates a separate compliance problem.
