MODEL POLICY ON HEMP AND CBD PRODUCTION AND SALE

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  The legislature intends to:

(1) Authorize and establish a new licensing and regulatory program for hemp production in this state in accordance with the agriculture improvement act of 2018; and

(2) Authorize the growing of hemp as a legal, agricultural activity in this state. Hemp is an agricultural product that may be legally grown, produced, processed, possessed, transferred, commercially sold, and traded. Hemp and processed hemp produced in accordance with this chapter or produced lawfully under the laws of another state, tribe, or country may be transferred and sold within the state, outside of this state, and internationally. Nothing in this chapter is intended to prevent or restrain commerce in this state involving hemp or hemp products produced lawfully under the laws of another state, tribe, or country.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) “Agriculture improvement act of 2018” means sections 7605, 10113, 10114, and 12619 of the agriculture improvement act of 2018, P.L. 115-334.

(2) “Crop” means hemp grown as an agricultural commodity.

(3) “Cultivar” means a variation of the plant Cannabis sativa L. that has been developed through cultivation by selective breeding.

(4) “Department” means the state department of agriculture.

(5) “Hemp” means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.

(6)(a) “Industrial hemp” means all parts and varieties of the genera Cannabis, cultivated or possessed by a grower, whether growing or not, that contain a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of 0.3 percent or less by dry weight.

(b) “Industrial hemp” does not include plants of the genera Cannabis that meet the definition of “marijuana”.

(7) “Postharvest test” means a test of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration levels of hemp after being harvested based on:

(a) Ground whole plant samples without heat applied; or

(b) Other approved testing methods.

(8) “Process” means the processing, compounding, or conversion of hemp into hemp commodities or products.

(9) “Produce” or “production” means the planting, cultivation, growing, or harvesting of hemp including hemp seed.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.  (1) The department must develop an agricultural commodity program in accordance with the agriculture improvement act of 2018.

(2) The department has sole regulatory authority over the production of hemp and may adopt rules to implement this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.  (1) The department must develop the state’s hemp plan to conform to the agriculture improvement act of 2018, to include consultation with the governor and the attorney general and the plan elements required in the agriculture improvement act of 2018.

(2) Consistent with subsection (1) of this section, the state’s hemp plan must include the following elements:

(a) A practice for hemp producers to maintain relevant information regarding land on which hemp is produced, including a legal description of the land, for a period of not less than three calendar years;

(b) A procedure for testing, using postdecarboxylation or other similarly reliable methods, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration levels of hemp, without the application of heat;

(c) A procedure for the effective disposal of plants, whether growing or not, that are produced in violation of this chapter, and products derived from such plants;

(d) A procedure for enforcement of violations of the plan and for corrective action plans for licensees as required under the agriculture improvement act of 2018;

(e) A procedure for conducting annual inspections of, at a minimum, a random sample of hemp producers to verify hemp is not produced in violation of this chapter; and

(f) A certification that the state has the resources and personnel to carry out the practices and procedures described in this section.

(3) The proposal for the state’s plan may include any other practice or procedure established to the extent the practice or procedure is consistent with the agriculture improvement act of 2018.

(4) Hemp and processed hemp produced in accordance with this chapter or produced lawfully under the laws of another state, tribe, or country may be transferred and sold within this state, outside of this state, and internationally.

(5) The whole hemp plant may be used as food. The department shall regulate the processing of hemp for food products, that are allowable under federal law, in the same manner as other food processing under and may adopt rules as necessary to properly regulate the processing of hemp for food products including, but not limited to, establishing standards for creating hemp extracts used for food.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.  The department must develop a postharvest test protocol for testing hemp under this chapter that includes testing of whole plant samples or other testing protocol identified in regulations established by the United States department of agriculture, including the testing procedures for delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration levels of hemp produced by producers under the state plan.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6.  (1) The department must issue hemp producer licenses to applicants qualified under this chapter and the agriculture improvement act of 2018. The department may adopt rules pursuant to this chapter as necessary to license persons to grow hemp under a commercial hemp program.

(2) The plan must identify qualifications for license applicants, to include adults and corporate persons and to exclude persons with felony convictions as required under the agriculture improvement act of 2018.

(3) The department must establish license fees in an amount that will fund the implementation of this chapter and sustain the hemp program. The department may adopt rules establishing fees for tetrahydrocannabinol testing, inspections, and additional services required by the United States department of agriculture. License fees and any money received by the department under this chapter must be deposited in the hemp regulatory account created in section 8 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7.  A person producing hemp pursuant to this chapter must notify the department of the source of the hemp seed or clones solely for the purpose of maintaining a record of the sources of seeds and clones being used or having been used for hemp production in this state. Hemp seed is an agricultural seed.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8.  The hemp regulatory account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from fees established under this chapter must be deposited into the account. Expenditures from the account may be used only for implementing this chapter. Only the director of the state department of agriculture or the director’s designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9.  (1) There is no distance requirement, limitation, or buffer zone between any licensed hemp producer or hemp processing facility licensed or authorized under this chapter and any marijuana producer or marijuana processor. No rule may establish such a distance requirement, limitation, or buffer zone without the evaluation of sufficient data showing impacts to either crop as a result of cross-pollination.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, in an effort to prevent cross-pollination between hemp plants produced under this chapter and marijuana plants, the department must review the state’s policy regarding cross-pollination and pollen capture to ensure an appropriate policy is in place, and must modify policies or establish new policies as appropriate. Under any such policy, when a documented conflict involving cross-pollination exists between two farms or production facilities growing or producing hemp or marijuana, the farm or production facility operating first in time shall have the right to continue operating and the farm or production facility operating second in time must cease growing or producing hemp or marijuana, as applicable.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10.  (1) The department must use expedited rule making to adopt the state hemp plan submitted to the United States department of agriculture. As allowed under this section, rule making by the department to adopt the approved hemp plan qualifies as expedited rule making. Upon the submittal of the plan to the United States department of agriculture, the department may conduct initial expedited rule making to establish rules to allow hemp licenses to be issued without delay.

(2) On the effective date of rules adopted by the department regulating hemp production, a licensed hemp producer under this chapter may immediately produce hemp with all the privileges of a hemp producer.

Sec. 11.

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(a) “Controlled substance” means a drug, substance, or immediate precursor included in Schedules I through V as set forth in federal or state laws, or federal or commission rules, but does not include hemp or industrial hemp as defined in ((RCW 15.120.010)) section 2 of this act.

(b) “Marijuana” or “marihuana” means all parts of the plant Cannabis, whether growing or not, with a THC concentration greater than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds or resin. The term does not include:

(1) The mature stalks of the plant, fiber produced from the stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of the plant which is incapable of germination; or

(2) ((Industrial hemp as defined in RCW 15.120.010)) Hemp or industrial hemp as defined in section 2 of this act, seeds used for licensed hemp production.

Sec. 12.

Unless specifically excepted by state or federal law or regulation or more specifically included in another schedule, the following controlled substances are listed in Schedule I:

(30)(i) Tetrahydrocannabinols, meaning tetrahydrocannabinols naturally contained in a plant of the ((genus)) genera Cannabis (((cannabis plant))), as well as synthetic equivalents of the substances contained in the plant, or in the resinous extractives of the genera Cannabis, ((species,)) and/or synthetic substances, derivatives, and their isomers with similar chemical structure and pharmacological activity such as the following:

(((i))) (A) 1 – cis – or trans tetrahydrocannabinol, and their optical isomers, excluding tetrahydrocannabinol in sesame oil and encapsulated in a soft gelatin capsule in a drug product approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration;

(((ii))) (B) 6 – cis – or trans tetrahydrocannabinol, and their optical isomers;

(((iii))) (C) 3,4 – cis – or trans tetrahydrocannabinol, and its optical isomers; or

(((iv))) (D) That is chemically synthesized and either:

(((a))) (I) Has been demonstrated to have binding activity at one or more cannabinoid receptors; or

(((b))) (II) Is a chemical analog or isomer of a compound that has been demonstrated to have binding activity at one or more cannabinoid receptors;

(Since nomenclature of these substances is not internationally standardized, compounds of these structures, regardless of numerical designation of atomic positions covered.)

(ii) Hemp and industrial hemp, as defined in section 2 of this act, are excepted from the categories of controlled substances identified under this section;

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 13.  Beginning on the effective date of this section:

(1) No law or rule related to certified or interstate hemp seeds applies to or may be enforced against a person with a license to produce or process hemp issued under this chapter; and

(2) No department or other state agency rule may establish or enforce a buffer zone or distance requirement between a person with a license or authorization to produce or process hemp under this chapter and a person with a license to produce or process marijuana. The department may not adopt rules without the evaluation of sufficient data showing impacts to either crop as a result of cross-pollination.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 14.  If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 15.  This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. A new section is added to read as follows:

Any CBD product that has a THC concentration or content not exceeding 0.0 percent may be sold at retail by a person who is not a marijuana retailer and at a location that is not a retail outlet if:

(a) The product is intended for topical application, oral consumption, or inhalation, by humans, or for consumption by animals;

(b) The product is not a marijuana product; and

(c) The product is not a controlled substance.

Approved By the ALEC Board of Directors: September 3, 2019