2016 -- S 2763

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LC004894

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY

     Introduced By: Senators Sosnowski, Miller, Pichardo, Walaska, and Kettle

     Date Introduced: March 10, 2016

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     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

HEMP GROWTH ACT

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

Growth Act."

     2-26-2. Legislative findings. – The general assembly finds and declares as follows:

     (1) The cannabis sativa plant used for the production of hemp is separate and distinct

from forms of cannabis used to produce marijuana.

     (2) Hemp is used for products such as building materials, cloth, cordage, fiber, food, floor

coverings, fuel, industrial chemicals, paint, paper, particle board, plastics, seed meal, seed oil and

yarn.

     (3) Although federal law currently prohibits the cultivation and possession of hemp, the

laws of California, Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South

Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia permit commercial hemp programs.

Rhode Island joins in this effort so that farmers and other businesses in the Rhode Island

agricultural industry can take advantage of this market opportunity.

     (4) States are not required to enforce federal law or prosecute people for engaging in

activities prohibited by federal law. Therefore, compliance with this chapter does not put the state

of Rhode Island in violation of federal law.

     2-26-3. Definitions. – When used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the

following meanings:

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

management.

     (2) "Grower" means a person or entity that produces hemp for commercial purposes.

     (3) "Handler" means a person or entity that produces hemp for processing into

commodities, products, or agricultural hemp seed.

     (4) "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 (0.3%) 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 the moisture content.

     (5) "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 for cultivation.

     (6) "THC" means tetrahydrocannabinol, the principal psychoactive constituent of

cannabis.

     (7) "THCA" means tetrahydrocannabinol acid.

     2-26-4. Hemp an agricultural product. – Hemp is an agricultural product which may be

grown as a crop, produced, possessed, distributed, and commercially traded pursuant to the

provisions of this chapter. As an agricultural product, hemp is subject to regulation by the

division.

     2-26-5. Authority over licensing and sales. – (a) The division shall promulgate rules

and regulations for the licensing and regulation of hemp cultivators and processors, and shall be

responsible for the enforcement of such licensing and regulation.

     (b) All growers and handlers must have a hemp license issued by the division.

     (c) An application for a hemp license shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

     (1) The name and address of the person or entity applying for licensure.

     (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 THC as set forth in §2-26-

3(4); any seeds obtained from a state or federal agency are presumed not to exceed the maximum

concentration and do not require a certificate of analysis.

     (3) The location of the facility, including the global positioning system location, and

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other field reference information as may be required by the division with a tracking program and

security layout to ensure that 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 certificate of analysis or certificate of analysis for the standard hemp seeds.

     (5) Verification prior to planting any seed, that the plant to be grown is of a type and

variety of hemp that will produce a delta-9 THC concentration of no more than three-tenths of

one percent (0.3%) on a dry weight basis.

     (6) Documentation that the licensee has entered into a purchase agreement with a hemp

processor.

     (7) A national criminal background check with the bureau of criminal identification of

the department of attorney general. The applicant shall pay the costs of any criminal identification

background check.

     (i) Any applicant who has been convicted of any felony offense under chapter 28 of title

21, or any person who has been convicted of murder, manslaughter, 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, or any assault and battery punishable as a felony or

assault with intent to commit any offense punishable as a felony, shall be disqualified from

holding any license or permit under this chapter. The division shall notify any applicant in

writing, for a denial of a license pursuant to this subsection.

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

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

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

probation, or those instances wherein the defendant has entered into a deferred sentence

agreement with the attorney general.

     (8) Any other information as set forth in rules and regulations as required by the division.

     (d) All applicants shall register with the Rhode Island state police.

     (e) The division shall charge a non-refundable application fee of two hundred fifty dollars

($250) for each application to obtain a license. The division shall issue a hemp license to an

applicant who meets the requirements of this chapter, upon the license grantee paying a licensure

fee of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500). Said license shall be renewed every three (3)

years upon payment of a two thousand five hundred dollar ($2,500) renewal fee. Any license

holder convicted of any disqualifying offense described in subsection (c)(7)(i) of this section,

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shall have their license revoked.

     2-26-6. Rulemaking authority. – (a) The division shall adopt rules to provide for the

implementation of this chapter, which shall include rules to require hemp to be tested during

growth for THC levels and to require inspection of hemp during sowing, growing season, harvest,

storage, and processing. Included in these rules should be a system requiring the licensee to

submit crop samples to an approved testing facility, as determined by the division, for testing and

verification of compliance with the limits on delta-9 THC concentration.

     (b) The division 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 under federal law.

     2-26-7. Registration. – (a) Except as provided in this section, beginning sixty (60) days

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

cultivate hemp.

     (b) A person registered with the division pursuant to this chapter, shall allow hemp crops,

throughout sowing, year-long growing seasons, harvest, storage, and processing, to be inspected

and tested by and at the discretion of the division.

     2-26-8. Methods of extraction. – (a) The division shall only permit the CO2 extraction

method of extracting oil for the production of any hemp product.

     (1) CO2 extraction also known as superficial fluid extraction (SFE), is the process of

separating one component (the extricant) from another component (the matrix) using superficial

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.

     (b) No butane method of extraction shall be allowed for any hemp product.

     2-26-9. Research and educational growth by institutions of higher education. – (a)

The division is authorized to certify any higher educational institution in Rhode Island to grow or

cultivate industrial hemp for the purpose of agricultural or academic research where such higher

educational institution submits the following to the division:

     (1) The location where the higher educational institution intends to grow or cultivate the

industrial hemp;

     (2) The higher educational institution's research plan; and

     (3) The name of the employee of the higher educational institution that will supervise the

hemp growth, cultivation and research.

     (b) Growth for purposes of agricultural and educational research by a higher educational

institution shall not be subject to the licensing requirements set forth in §2-26-5.

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     (c) The division shall maintain a list of each higher education institution certified to grow

or cultivate industrial hemp under this chapter.

     2-26-10. Exemptions from state penalties. – (a) It is not a violation of this state or local

law for a person to plant, grow, harvest, and possess hemp or hemp products provided that said

person does so in compliance with this chapter and any rules adopted by the division.

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

hemp products provide that said person does so in compliance with this chapter and any rules

adopted by the division.

     2-26-11. Transfer of license prohibited. – (a) No license issued pursuant to this chapter,

may be assigned, transferred, or sold to any other person or entity without the prior approval of

the division.

     (b) Any assignee, transferee or purchaser must comply with the application provisions set

forth in §2-26-5 and any other rules and regulations as promulgated by the division.

     SECTION 2. Section 21-28-1.02 of the General Laws in Chapter 21-28 entitled "Uniform

Controlled Substances Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     21-28-1.02. Definitions. -- Unless the context otherwise requires, the words and phrases

as defined in this section are used in this chapter in the sense given them in the following

definitions:

      (1) "Administer" refers to the direct application of controlled substances to the body of a

patient or research subject by:

      (i) A practitioner, or, in his or her presence by his or her authorized agent; or

      (ii) The patient or research subject at the direction and in the presence of the practitioner

whether the application is by injection, inhalation, ingestion, or any other means.

      (2) "Agent" means an authorized person who acts on behalf of or at the direction of a

manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor, or dispenser; except that these terms do not include a

common or contract carrier or warehouse operator, when acting in the usual and lawful course of

the carrier's or warehouse operator's business.

      (3) "Apothecary" means a registered pharmacist as defined by the laws of this state and,

where the context requires, the owner of a licensed pharmacy or other place of business where

controlled substances are compounded or dispensed by a registered pharmacist; and includes

registered assistant pharmacists as defined by existing law, but nothing in this chapter shall be

construed as conferring on a person who is not registered as a pharmacist any authority, right, or

privilege that is not granted to him or her by the pharmacy laws of the state.

      (4) "Automated data processing system" means a system utilizing computer software and

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hardware for the purposes of record keeping.

      (5) "Computer" means programmable electronic device capable of multi-functions,

including, but not limited to, storage, retrieval, and processing of information.

      (6) "Control" means to add a drug or other substance or immediate precursor to a

schedule under this chapter, whether by transfer from another schedule or otherwise.

      (7) "Controlled substance" means a drug, substance, immediate precursor, or synthetic

drug in schedules I -- V of this chapter. The term shall not include distilled spirits, wine, or malt

beverages, as those terms are defined or used in chapter 1 of title 3, nor tobacco.

      (8) "Counterfeit substance" means a controlled substance which, or the container or

labeling of which, without authorization bears the trademark, trade name, or other identifying

mark, imprint, number, or device, or any likeness of them, of a manufacturer, distributor, or

dispenser, other than the person or persons who in fact manufactured, distributed, or dispensed

the substance and which thereby falsely purports or is represented to be the product of, or to have

been distributed by, the other manufacturer, distributor, or dispenser, or which substance is

falsely purported to be or represented to be one of the controlled substances by a manufacturer,

distributor, or dispenser.

      (9) "CRT" means cathode ray tube used to impose visual information on a screen.

      (10) "Deliver" or "delivery" means the actual, constructive, or attempted transfer of a

controlled substance or imitation controlled substance, whether or not there exists an agency

relationship.

      (11) "Department" means the department of health of this state.

      (12) "Depressant or stimulant drug" means:

      (i) A drug which contains any quantity of:

      (A) Barbituric acid or derivatives, compounds, mixtures, or preparations of barbituric

acid; and

      (B) "Barbiturate" or "barbiturates" includes all hypnotic and/or somnifacient drugs,

whether or not derivatives of barbituric acid, except that this definition shall not include bromides

and narcotics.

      (ii) A drug which contains any quantity of:

      (A) Amphetamine or any of its optical isomers;

      (B) Any salt of amphetamine and/or desoxyephedrine or any salt of an optical isomer of

amphetamine and/or desoxyephedrine, or any compound, mixture, or preparation of them.

      (iii) A drug which contains any quantity of coca leaves. "Coca leaves" includes cocaine,

or any compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of coca leaves, except

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derivatives of coca leaves, which do not contain cocaine, ecgonine, or substance from which

cocaine or ecgonine may be synthesized or made.

      (iv) Any other drug or substance which contains any quantity of a substance which the

attorney general of the United States, or the director of health, after investigation, has found to

have, or by regulation designates as having, a potential for abuse because of its depressant or

stimulant effect on the central nervous system.

      (13) "Director" means the director of health.

      (14) "Dispense" means to deliver, distribute, leave with, give away, or dispose of a

controlled substance to the ultimate user or human research subject by or pursuant to the lawful

order of a practitioner, including the packaging, labeling, or compounding necessary to prepare

the substance for that delivery.

      (15) "Dispenser" is a practitioner who delivers a controlled substance to the ultimate user

or human research subject.

      (16) "Distribute" means to deliver (other than by administering or dispensing) a

controlled substance or an imitation controlled substance and includes actual constructive, or

attempted transfer. "Distributor" means a person who so delivers a controlled substance or an

imitation controlled substance.

      (17) "Downtime" means that period of time when a computer is not operable.

      (18) "Drug addicted person" means a person who exhibits a maladaptive pattern of

behavior resulting from drug use, including one or more of the following: impaired control over

drug use; compulsive use; and/or continued use despite harm, and craving.

      (19) "Drug Enforcement Administration" means the Drug Enforcement Administration

United States Department of Justice or its successor.

      (20) "Federal law" means the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of

1970, (84 stat. 1236)(see generally 21 U.S.C. § 801 et seq.), and all regulations pertaining to that

federal act.

      (21) "Hardware" means the fixed component parts of a computer.

      (22) "Hospital" means an institution as defined in chapter 17 of title 23.

      (23) "Imitation controlled substance" means a substance that is not a controlled

substance, which by dosage unit, appearance (including color, shape, size, and markings), or by

representations made, would lead a reasonable person to believe that the substance is a controlled

substance and, which imitation controlled substances contain substances which if ingested, could

be injurious to the health of a person. In those cases when the appearance of the dosage unit is not

reasonably sufficient to establish that the substance is an "imitation controlled substance" (for

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example in the case of powder or liquid), the court or authority concerned should consider, in

addition to all other logically relevant factors, the following factors as related to "representations

made" in determining whether the substance is an "imitation controlled substance":

      (i) Statement made by an owner, possessor, transferor, recipient, or by anyone else in

control of the substance concerning the nature of the substance, or its use or effect.

      (ii) Statements made by the owner, possessor, or transferor, to the recipient that the

substance may be resold for substantial profit.

      (iii) Whether the substance is packaged in a manner reasonably similar to packaging of

illicit controlled substances.

      (iv) Whether the distribution or attempted distribution included an exchange of or

demand for money or other property as consideration, and whether the amount of the

consideration was substantially greater than the reasonable value of the non-controlled substance.

      (24) "Immediate precursor" means a substance:

      (i) Which the director of health has found to be and by regulation designated as being the

principal compound used, or produced primarily for use, in the manufacture of a controlled

substance;

      (ii) Which is an immediate chemical intermediary used or likely to be used in the

manufacture of those controlled substances; and

      (iii) The control of which is necessary to prevent, curtail, or limit the manufacture of that

controlled substance.

      (25) "Laboratory" means a laboratory approved by the department of health as proper to

be entrusted with controlled substances and the use of controlled substances for scientific and

medical purposes and for the purposes of instruction.

      (26) "Marijuana" means all parts of the plant cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not;

the seeds of the plant; 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, but shall not

include 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

mature stalks, (except the resin extracted from it), fiber, oil or cake, or the sterilized seed from the

plant which is incapable of germination. Marijuana shall not include hemp, or hemp products as

defined in §2-26-3.

      (27) "Manufacture" means the production, preparation, propagation, cultivation,

compounding, or processing of a drug or other substance, including an imitation controlled

substance, either directly or indirectly or by extraction from substances of natural origin, or

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independently by means of chemical synthesis or by a combination of extraction and chemical

synthesis and includes any packaging or repackaging of the substance or labeling or relabeling of

its container in conformity with the general laws of this state except by a practitioner as an

incident to his or her administration or dispensing of the drug or substance in the course of his or

her professional practice.

      (28) "Manufacturer" means a person who manufactures but does not include an

apothecary who compounds controlled substances to be sold or dispensed on prescriptions.

      (29) "Narcotic drug" means any of the following, whether produced directly or indirectly

by extraction from substances of vegetable origin, or independently by means of chemical

synthesis or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis:

      (i) Opium and opiates.

      (ii) A compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, or preparation of opium or opiates.

      (iii) A substance (and any compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, or preparation of it)

which is chemically identical with any of the substances referred to in paragraphs (i) and (ii) of

this subdivision.

      (iv) Any other substance which the attorney general of the United States, or his or her

successor, or the director of health, after investigation, has found to have, and by regulation

designates as having, a potential for abuse similar to opium and opiates.

      (30) "Official written order" means an order written on a form provided for that purpose

by the Drug Enforcement Administration under any laws of the United States making provision

for an official form, if order forms are authorized and required by federal law, and if no order

form is provided then on an official form provided for that purpose by the director of health.

      (31) "Opiate" means any substance having an addiction-forming or addiction-sustaining

liability similar to morphine or being capable of conversion into a drug having addiction-forming

or addiction-sustaining liability.

      (32) "Opium poppy" means the plant of the species papaver somniferum L., except the

seeds of the plant.

      (33) "Ounce" means an avoirdupois ounce as applied to solids and semi-solids, and a

fluid ounce as applied to liquids.

      (34) "Person" means any corporation, association, partnership, or one or more

individuals.

      (35) "Physical dependence" means a state of adaptation that is manifested by a drug class

specific withdrawal syndrome that can be produced by abrupt cessation, rapid dose reduction,

decreasing blood level of the drug, and/or administration of an antagonist.

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      (36) "Poppy straw" means all parts, except the seeds, of the opium poppy, after mowing.

      (37) "Practitioner" means:

      (i) A physician, osteopath, dentist, chiropodist, veterinarian, scientific investigator, or

other person licensed, registered or permitted to distribute, dispense, conduct research with

respect to or to administer a controlled substance in the course of professional practice or research

in this state.

      (ii) A pharmacy, hospital, or other institution licensed, registered or permitted to

distribute, dispense, conduct research with respect to, or to administer a controlled substance in

the course of professional practice or research in this state.

      (38) "Printout" means a hard copy produced by computer that is readable without the aid

of any special device.

      (39) "Production" includes the manufacture, planting, cultivation, growing, or harvesting

of a controlled substance.

      (40) "Researcher" means a person authorized by the director of health to conduct a

laboratory as defined in this chapter.

      (41) "Sell" includes sale, barter, gift, transfer, or delivery in any manner to another, or to

offer or agree to do the same.

      (42) "Software" means programs, procedures and storage of required information data.

      (43) "Synthetic drugs" means any synthetic cannabinoids or piperazines or any synthetic

cathinones as provided for in schedule I.

      (44) "Ultimate user" means a person who lawfully possesses a controlled substance for

his or her own use or for the use of a member of his or her household, or for administering to an

animal owned by him or her or by a member of his or her household.

      (45) "Wholesaler" means a person who sells, vends, or distributes at wholesale, or as a

jobber, broker agent, or distributor, or for resale in any manner in this state any controlled

substance.

     SECTION 3. 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

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     This act would permit the growth of hemp by properly licensed individuals or entities that

have applied and met the requirements of this chapter. It would also provide that higher

educational institutions could grow hemp for educational and research purposes. It would exclude

hemp and hemp products from the prohibitions set forth in chapter 28 of title 21 as they relate

marijuana.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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