New state law says Santa Claus must lay off weed . . . advertisements

Santa Claus is going to have to stay away from weed in Arizona — and it's not just because he's driving that reindeer-led sleigh all night.

On Monday, Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill that will ban marijuana companies from advertising to children. That means Santa, along with any other kid-friendly character — Does SpongeBob do edibles? Patrick Star seems a likely consumer — cannot appear on weed packaging and signs.

House Bill 2179 was sponsored by Republican state Rep. Selina Bliss and passed after undergoing significant revisions. Critics worried that the bill’s initial version would unintentionally force smoke shop owners and sellers of hemp-based THC products — which are regulated differently than marijuana products, at least for now — to seek the approval of a licensed dispensary to advertise their wares.

Bliss amended the bill on Feb. 10 and it passed the Arizona House of Representatives with only one vote against. (Unsurprisingly, that vote was cast by iconoclastic GOP state Rep. Alexander Kolodin.) It easily cleared the Arizona Senate and survived Hobbs’ veto stamp, giving Bliss a long-fought win. The Prescott Republican’s bill was the fourth attempt in recent years to prevent weed advertisers from targeting children.

“Parents deserve peace of mind knowing that marijuana businesses can’t market their products to their kids,” Bliss said in a written statement. “I’m proud to stand with Arizona families and lead on common-sense protections that prioritize health, safety, and personal responsibility.”

The first iteration of the bill faced opposition from smoke shop owners. That version of the bill stated that “only a marijuana establishment or nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary” may advertise products containing THC and weed paraphernalia, which includes bongs and pipes. That would have given the powerful Arizona Dispensaries Association even more influence over the legal weed market.

“Our smoke shops are small businesses owned by residents of Arizona, employing citizens of Arizona,” smoke shop owner Jason Horn told lawmakers in January. “If you took this bill and passed it, it would effectively shut down smoke shops from promoting their products.”

The now-passed law stripped that language and reinforced smoke shops’ right to market their products. It states that “an individual or entity that sells marijuana paraphernalia may advertise or authorize advertising for marijuana paraphernalia in accordance with restrictions imposed by this section.”

Businesses that sell hemp-based products, which contain less than 0.3% THC, also got a carveout. Such products have proliferated on the market in recent years — inspiring Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes to crack down on their sale — because they are not regulated by the Arizona Department of Health Services like other weed products. The previous bill specified that only ADHS-regulated establishments can advertise for products containing cannabinoids, but that language was struck from the bill after the Hemp Industry Trade Association opposed it.

Bliss told New Times in February that looping in hemp products wasn’t her intention.

“This is an ongoing frustration typically based on mis-interpretation of bills,” Bliss said via email. “Education of legislative intent will be of the upmost (sic) importance to getting this bill across the finish line.”

In the end, the law was whittled down to what Bliss was aiming to do: Keeping weed advertisers away from kids’ minds.