What's with the Prop 65 warning?

Proposition 65, officially known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, requires businesses to provide a clear warning before exposing anyone to chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) administers the program, and regularly updates the list of Prop 65 chemicals, which includes pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, as well as popular terpenes like beta-Myrcene and Isoprene. Prop 65’s requirements are widely known to be exceedingly stringent (even more so than the FDA’s), and require warnings for trace quantities of chemicals that are in some cases hundreds of times lower than national and international safety standards.

Since our founding in 2010, Kiva’s highest priority has been to produce clean, safe cannabis products. We strictly test for chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals and other contaminants, and only release products that meet strict standards of detection (what we would call "safe harbor"). Currently, we work with Anresco Labs, an ISO-certified laboratory with over 73 years of analytical testing experience. Together, we make sure to stay ahead of the curve and apply the latest technologies for lab testing. Since May 2017, we’ve screened for over 150 pesticides in the state of California.

Despite the stringent testing from Kiva and other cannabis product manufacturers, many cannabis retailers are requiring that all products have a Prop 65 warning, regardless of whether the product does not, in fact, contain any of the Prop 65 chemicals. This is to minimize the risk of enforcement actions, as penalties for violating Proposition 65’s warning requirement can be as high as $2,500 per day.

We want our consumers to know that we believe strongly in the health and safety of every single one of our products. If it were up to us, these warnings would be completely re-phrased, if they were included at all, as the required language could mislead consumers to believe that legal, licensed cannabis is harmful, when it is in fact an exceedingly safe substance that is helpful to so many.

For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/food.