2015 -- H 6177 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY - CBD-RICH HEMP ACT

     Introduced By: Representatives Keable, Newberry, Price, Blazejewski, and Slater

     Date Introduced: May 07, 2015

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 2 of the General Laws entitled "AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY"

is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 26

CBD-RICH HEMP ACT

     2-26-1. Short title. -- This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "CBD-Rich

Hemp Act."

     2-26-2. Definitions. -- When used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the

following meaning:

     (1) "Cannabinoid" means a class of a diverse chemical compound that acts on

cannabinoid receptors on cells that repress neurotransmitter release in the brain.

     (2) "Cannabidiol" or "CBD" means an active cannabinoid found in the plant of the genus

Cannabis.

     (3) "CbdA" means cannabidiol acid.

     (4) "Cbn" means cannabinol produced as THC ages and breaks down.

     (5) "CBD-rich hemp" means a sativa L strain reaching a CBD count of more than fifteen

percent (15%) CBD and less than eight tenths (0.8) of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

     (6) "Department" means the department of health.

     (7) "Division" means the division of agriculture in the department of environmental

management.

     (8) "Hemp" means the plant of the genus cannabis and any part of such plant, whether

growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed three-

tenths percent (.3%) on a dry weight basis of any part of the plant cannabis, or per volume or

weight of marijuana product, or the combined percent of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol and

tetrahydrocannabinolic acid in any part of the plant cannabis regardless of moisture content.

     (9) "Hemp and CBD-rich hemp products" means all products made from the plants,

including, but not limited to, concentrated oil, cloth, cordage, fiber, food, fuel, paint, paper,

construction materials, plastics, seed, seed meal, seed oil, and certified seed for cultivation.

     (10) "Thc" means tetrahydrocannabinol, the principal psychoactive constituent of

cannabis.

     (11) "Thca" means tetrahydrocannabinol acid.

     2-26-3. Hemp and CBD-Rich Hemp; an agricultural product. -- Hemp and CBD-rich

hemp are agricultural products which may be grown as a crop, produced, possessed, distributed,

and commercially traded pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

     2-26-4. Authority over licensing and sales. -- (a) (1) The division of agriculture in the

department of environmental management shall promulgate rules and regulations for the licensing

and regulation of hemp or cbd-rich cultivators and shall be responsible for the enforcement of

such licensing and regulation. Provided, however, the division shall not grant more than five (5)

licenses.

     (2) A person or entity who intends to cultivate hemp or cbd-rich hemp shall file for a

license to cultivate with the division of agriculture at the department of environmental

management. All applicants shall file a national criminal background check with the bureau of

criminal identification through the attorney general’s office. All such applicants shall also register

as applicants with the state police. The applicant shall pay the costs of such national background

check.

     (i) Information produced by a national criminal records check pertaining to a conviction

for any felony offense under chapter 28 of title 21 ("Rhode Island Controlled Substances Act"),

murder, manslaughter, rape, first-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, first-degree

child molestation, second-degree child molestation, kidnapping, first-degree arson, second-degree

arson, mayhem, robbery, burglary, breaking and entering, assault with a dangerous weapon,

assault or battery involving grave bodily injury, and/or assault with intent to commit any offense

punishable as a felony or a similar offense from any jurisdiction shall result in a letter to the

applicant and the division disqualifying the applicant.

     (ii) For purposes of this section, "conviction" means, in addition to judgements of

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conviction entered by a court subsequent to a finding of guilty, or a plea of guilty, those instances

where the defendant has entered a plea of nolo contendere and has received a sentence of

probation, and those instances where a defendant has entered into a deferred sentence agreement

with the attorney general.

     (3) The division shall charge a non-refundable application fee of twenty-five thousand

dollars ($25,000) for each application to obtain a cultivator’s license. Thereafter the cultivator’s

license may be renewed every three (3) years upon payment of the renewal fee of twenty-five

thousand dollars ($25,000). No licensee shall be eligible to have their license renewed if the

licensee is subsequently disqualified for committing any offense under this section.

     (b) The department of health shall promulgate regulations for the sales, storage,

manufacturing, and testing of CBD-rich hemp products and plants as set forth herein. Applicants

must demonstrate that the CBD-rich hemp to be grown will be a cannabidiol-rich product with a

cannabidiol no less than fifteen percent (15%) and a THC-concentration of less than one percent

(1%) during the growing of the plant. The final product must have a THC-concentration of less

than three tenths percent (0.3%).

     (i) The department, in promulgating such rules and regulations, shall include a testing

schedule to adequately monitor the THC levels of the plants throughout the cultivation process,

from seed to final product.

     (ii) All such testing shall be performed by or at the direction of the department, and shall

be paid for by the licensee.

     2-26-5. Rulemaking authority. -- The division and the department shall adopt rules to

provide for the implementation of this chapter, which shall include rules to require CBD-rich

hemp and standard hemp to be tested during growth for tetrahydrocannabinol levels and to

require inspection of CBD-rich hemp and standard hemp during sowing, growing season, harvest,

storage, and processing. The division and the department shall not adopt under this or any other

section a rule that would prohibit a person or entity to grow or distribute hemp based on the legal

status of hemp and CBD-rich hemp under federal law.

     2-26-6. Registration. -- (a) Except as provided in this section, beginning sixty (60) days

after the effective date of this act, the division shall accept applications for licensure to cultivate

CBD-rich hemp and hemp.

     (b) A person or entity who intends to cultivate hemp and CBD-rich hemp shall register

with the division of agriculture as a cultivator, and shall also submit on a form provided by the

department of health an application for a license to manufacture and sell hemp and CBD-rich

hemp products. The application for a license to manufacture and sell shall contain the following:

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     (1) The name and address of the person or entity;

     (2) A certificate of analysis that the seeds or plants obtained for cultivation are of a type

and variety that do not exceed the maximum concentration of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol set

forth in this chapter;

     (3) The location of the cultivation facility and other field reference information as may be

required by the department; Provided, that at a minimum, each applicant shall provide the

department of health and the division with a tracking program and security layout to indicate all

agriculture grown is tracked and monitored from seed to distribution outlets;

     (4) An explanation of the seed to sale tracking, cultivation method, extraction method,

and cbd-rich certificate of analysis or certificate of analysis for the standard hemp seeds; and

     (5) The division and the department shall review each application for the appropriate

license to determine whether the applicant meets the criteria in this chapter and qualifies for

licensure.

     (c) A person registered with the department or the division pursuant to this section shall

allow hemp and CBD-rich hemp crops, throughout sowing, year-long growing seasons, harvest,

storage, and processing, to be inspected and tested by and at the discretion of the department or

division.

     2-26-7. CBD-rich hemp products. Methods of extraction. -- (a) No butane method of

extraction of oil shall be allowed for any hemp or CBD-rich hemp product. The only permitted

method of extraction of oil for CBD-rich hemp products shall be the C02 extraction, also known

as supercritical fluid extraction, as described in this section.

     (1) C02 extraction, also known as supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), is the process of

separating one component (the extractant) from another (the matrix) using supercritical fluids as

the extracting solvent. Extraction is usually from a solid matrix, but can also be from liquids. SFE

can be used as a sample preparation step for analytical purposes, or on a larger scale to either strip

unwanted material from a product or collect a desired product.

     2-26-8. Product testing and labeling. -- (a) The tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of

CBD-rich hemp shall be determined and tested by the department from the final product after

manufacturing and processing.

     (b) All final products must be properly tested by national accredited testing facilities,

which must include testing of cbd, cbdA Cbn, thc, and thca. All such products shall be properly

labelled as having been tested successfully. Products must also be tested and labeled as

contaminant free.

     (c) Any products containing thc in excess of the allowable limits shall be destroyed on-

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site by the licensee, under the observation and authority of the department.

     2-26-9. Exemption from state penalties. -- (a) It is not a violation of state or local law

for a person to plant, grow, harvest, possess, process, sell, and buy hemp and CBD-rich hemp if

that person does so in compliance with this chapter and rules adopted in accordance with it.

     (b) It is not a violation of state or local law for a person to purchase and possess industrial

CBD-rich hemp or CBD-rich hemp products.

     2-26-10. Transfer of licenses prohibited. -- No license or registration issued pursuant to

the terms of this chapter may be assigned, transferred, or sold to any other person or entity

without the prior approval of the division to ensure the purchaser, assignee, or transferee is

eligible to hold the license under this chapter.

     .

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY - CBD-RICH HEMP ACT

***

     This act would allow for the growth of hemp or cbd-rich hemp as an agricultural product

in Rhode Island. Growers would be subject to registration as a cultivator with the division of

agriculture in the department of environmental management. The sales or manufacture of hemp

and cbd-rich hemp products would be under the regulation of the department of health.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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