California Just Started Carding People for Creatine: AB 2030, Explained

Starting January 1, a 17-year-old in California will need to show ID to buy creatine.

Same as buying a lottery ticket.

That's AB 2030. Governor Newsom signed it on September 28.

Here's what it does, who pays when someone breaks it, and where I stand.

What California's new supplement law does

You can't sell weight-loss supplements, muscle-building supplements, or over-the-counter diet pills to anyone under 18 in California.

Giving them away counts too. A free sample at a high school track meet is now a violation.

In stores:

• If a customer might be under 18, the clerk has to check ID.
• Stores can lock these products up or keep them behind the counter.

Online: Sellers shipping to California have two choices.

• Check the buyer's age through an ID database, or
• Ship with an adult signature required and check a photo ID at the door.

The bouncer rule: the seller is on the hook

When a 16-year-old gets into a bar, the kid doesn't get fined. The bar does.

AB 2030 works the same way. The seller is on the hook.

Why California passed AB 2030

According to the governor's office, these products are often mislabeled or contaminated, sometimes with steroids.

• Nearly 1 in 10 teens has used them.
• Teens who use over-the-counter diet pills are 6 times more likely to be diagnosed with an eating disorder within three years.
• Between 2007 and 2016, the FDA found 776 supplements spiked with hidden drug ingredients. Many were weight-loss products.

New York passed a similar law in 2023, and California followed.

What counts as a "muscle-building" supplement?

This is where it gets messy.

The law doesn't give a list of banned products. A judge decides, based on three things:

1. Ingredients. The law names creatine, along with green tea extract, garcinia cambogia, raspberry ketone, and green coffee bean extract.
2. Claims. Anything that says or even hints that it helps with weight, fat, appetite, metabolism, muscle, or strength.
3. Placement. Is it on a "muscle building" shelf in the store? Is it under a "weight loss" tab on the website?

It's like a kitchen knife becoming a "weapon" because the store put it in the hunting aisle.

Industry groups warn this could pull in protein powder, fiber, even multivitamins.

Who gets fined under AB 2030, and how much?

The seller. Not the kid. Not the parent.

The fine is up to $500 per violation.

So is 10 violations 10 × $500? Yes. That's up to $5,000, and a judge can go lower.

But the fine isn't the scary part. These two things are:

1. Lawyer bills. If the government wins, the business pays the government's legal bills (attorney's fees) too.
2. Volume. Online, every order to a California customer could be a violation. A store that ships 1,000 California orders without age checks isn't looking at $500. It's looking at a number with a lot more zeros.

That's how a "$500 fine" becomes a five- or six-figure problem.

What changes for the supplement industry

• Online brands need age-check software or adult-signature shipping on California orders. That means more cost per order, slower checkout, and more abandoned carts.
• Retail stores will likely move creatine and fat burners behind the counter and train staff to card.
• Marketing teams will quietly scrub words like "strength" and "metabolism" from product pages and rename website categories.
• Big platforms will likely play it safe and age-gate whole categories.
• The courts may weigh in. The Council for Responsible Nutrition has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review New York's version on free-speech grounds. That outcome could ripple into California.

AB 2030 pros and cons

The good

• Keeps sketchy diet pills and spiked products away from kids
• Takes the eating-disorder risk seriously
• Parents can still buy for their teen. The law only stops the kid from buying alone.
• No jail time. It's civil fines only.
• Only government attorneys can sue. No private bounty-hunter lawsuits under this law.

The not-so-good

• The wording is vague. Creatine, one of the most studied supplements on earth, is grouped with fat burners.
• Following the rules costs money, and small brands get hit hardest.
• No warning and no chance to fix it. The first violation means a fine.
• Legal-fee awards turn small fines into big bills.
• The law says its penalties stack with other laws. That could give lawyers creative angles.
• Teens who want it badly enough may turn to sketchier sources.

My take (Rob)

I'm for this law.

I don't think anyone under 18 should be buying supplements on their own. That decision belongs to the parents, not the kid and not a 19-year-old store clerk.

Here's what most people miss: the law actually does that.

A parent can still buy creatine for their 16-year-old. The law just stops the 16-year-old from buying it alone. Good intentions, and mostly good execution.

My problem is how it gets enforced.

There's no on-ramp. Break the rule once and you're fined. If it were up to me:

1. First violation: a warning
2. Second: a fine
3. Third: a bigger fine
4. Fourth: a real penalty, like losing the right to sell these products

That's how you change behavior. Skipping straight to fines and legal fees just builds a revenue stream.

To be fair, this law only lets government attorneys sue, not private lawyers. That's better than Prop 65.

But in my opinion, I've seen how this movie goes.

With Prop 65 and online ADA cases, the "warning" is a demand letter. The business does the math: fight it and spend more on lawyers than the settlement, or pay five figures and move on.

Most pick the second option. Most of those cases never see a courtroom.

That's not consumer protection. That's a business model.

This law says its penalties stack on top of other laws. I'll be watching to see whether the same playbook shows up here.

Quick answers about AB 2030

Can a 17-year-old buy creatine in California?
Not starting January 1. Sellers can't sell or give it to anyone under 18.

Can parents still buy creatine for their teen?
Yes. The law only stops the teen from buying it alone.

Who gets fined, the kid or the store?
The seller. Not the kid, and not the parent.

How big is the fine?
Up to $500 per violation, plus the government's attorney's fees if it wins.

Does it cover protein powder?
The law doesn't list banned products. A judge looks at ingredients, claims, and placement. Industry groups warn protein powder, fiber, and multivitamins could get pulled in.

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I'm a supplement guy, not a lawyer. This is my read of the law, not legal advice.

Sources

• AB 2030 chaptered text (LegiScan)
• Nutritional Outlook: California Governor Signs AB 2030, Restricting Minors' Access to Diet Supplements
• CRN statement on AB 2030
• CSPI memo urging signature (PDF)