Packaging and Labeling Requirements
Packaging and labeling is one of the fastest ways for a dispensary to receive violations, fines, or forced inventory removal.
OCM inspectors check every unit on your shelves for correct packaging, warnings, serving size, THC content, and compliance with marketing restrictions. If a product on your shelf is noncompliant, the retailer is responsible, not the processor and not the distributor.
This page explains what OCM requires before any cannabis product can be sold.
Jump To
- What Packaging and Labeling Covers
- Packaging Rules (What Every Package Must Have)
- Labeling Rules (What Must Be Displayed)
- THC, Serving Size, and Potency Requirements
- Child-Resistance Requirements
- Prohibited Packaging and Labeling
- Marketing Restrictions That Apply to Packaging
- Processor Responsibilities vs Retailer Responsibilities
- How Retailers Verify Compliance
- Inspection Expectations
What Packaging and Labeling Covers
This section explains everything that must be correct before a product is placed on the sales floor, including:
- Required warnings and symbols
- THC and serving-size accuracy
- Child-resistant and tamper-evident packaging
- Prohibited imagery, colors, and themes
- Required processor, distributor, and lab information
- What retailers are expected to verify
Packaging Rules (What Every Package Must Have)
Before a cannabis product can be sold in New York, the package itself must meet the following requirements:
- Child-resistant packaging
- Reclosable child-resistance for multi-use products
- Tamper-evident seal or indicator
- Opaque packaging for all edibles
- No packaging that imitates food, candy, or children’s products
- Standard New York cannabis symbol
- Required health warnings exactly as written by OCM
- No imagery, branding, or themes appealing to minors
Packages must be intact, undamaged, and not altered or repackaged by the retailer. The product must match the processor’s approved packaging design.
Labeling Rules (What Must Be Displayed)
Every cannabis product must display a clear and accurate label that includes:
- Product name and form (flower, edible, vape, tincture, etc.)
- Total THC per package
- THC per serving
- Total CBD (if applicable)
- Number of servings
- Full ingredients list, including allergens
- Net weight or volume
- Required health warnings
- Batch or lot number
- Processor name and license number
- Distributor name and license number
- Testing laboratory name and permit number
- Manufacture date and expiration or use-by date (if applicable)
- Storage instructions
If any required element is missing or inaccurate, the product is not compliant and may not be sold.
THC, Serving Size, and Potency Requirements
OCM requires:
- Accurate THC per serving
- Accurate THC per package
- Serving sizes that comply with OCM limits
- Label potency that matches laboratory Certificates of Analysis (COAs)
- No misleading potency claims
If a product’s label does not match its COA, OCM may require immediate removal from sale.
Child-Resistance Requirements
OCM requires child-resistant packaging for:
- Vape cartridges
- Edibles
- Tinctures
- Concentrates
- All multi-use products
Additional rules include:
- Multi-use packages must be reclosable
- Edibles must be opaque
- Retailers may not open, modify, or test packaging
If child-resistance fails, the product must be removed from sale.
Prohibited Packaging and Labeling
Packaging and labels may not include:
- Cartoons, mascots, animals, or characters
- Candy-like or neon colors appealing to minors
- Food or candy imagery
- Medical or therapeutic claims
- Misleading claims about effects or safety
- Packaging that imitates non-cannabis brands
- Images of consumption (smoking, vaping, eating)
Anything reasonably appealing to someone under 21 is prohibited.
Marketing Restrictions That Apply to Packaging
Under New York law, packaging is advertising.
That means packaging may not include:
- Medical or wellness claims
- Anxiety-relief or mood-altering promises
- Images of consumption
- QR codes linking to noncompliant advertising
- Promotions encouraging overconsumption
Processor Responsibilities vs Retailer Responsibilities
Processor Responsibilities
Processors are responsible for:
- Using compliant packaging
- Including all required labeling elements
- Providing accurate COAs
- Registering products with OCM when required
Retailer Responsibilities
Retailers are responsible for:
- Reviewing packaging before shelving
- Rejecting products with missing or incorrect labels
- Verifying THC values match COAs
- Making COAs available to customers upon request
- Removing noncompliant products immediately
OCM holds retailers responsible for every product sold.
How Retailers Verify Compliance
Before placing a product on the sales floor, retailers should:
- Match label THC values to COAs
- Confirm required warnings and symbols
- Verify processor and distributor license numbers
- Test child-resistant functionality
- Confirm packaging does not appeal to minors
- Ensure COAs are accessible at the point of sale
If there is uncertainty, the product should be quarantined.
Inspection Expectations
During inspections, OCM may:
- Pull random products from shelves
- Compare packaging to COAs
- Review warnings, symbols, and imagery
- Test child-resistant features
- Confirm edibles are opaque
- Request COAs at the counter
Multiple failures may result in fines, inventory holds, or forced destruction.
Common Violations
Retailers are frequently cited for:
- Missing THC per serving
- Candy-like or prohibited packaging
- Missing license numbers
- Labels not matching COAs
- Incorrect or missing health warnings
- Wrong or missing cannabis symbol
- Non-child-resistant packaging
- Repackaging or re-stickering products
- Missing COAs during inspection
OCM treats all of these as retailer violations.
Why This Matters
Packaging and labeling violations are treated as public safety issues.
A single noncompliant product can lead to:
- Fines
- Product destruction
- Inventory holds
- Failed inspections
- Delays opening additional locations
Clean, compliant shelves protect your license.
Related Pages
Source Material
- OCM Packaging and Labeling Guidance
- 9 NYCRR Adult-Use Regulations (Packaging and Labeling)
- MRTA Sections 81, 85, and 86
- OCM Advertising and Marketing Restrictions
- MRTA
- Revised Adult- Use Regulations
