AB 206

This bill makes several changes to current law relating to industrial hemp.

The bill changes current law in the following ways so that it is consistent with

the 2018 federal farm bill:

1. Uses the term “hemp” instead of “industrial hemp” throughout current law

and defines “hemp” as “

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

[THC] concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis or the

maximum concentration allowed under federal law up to 1 percent, whichever is

greater.” The bill also provides that “hemp” does not include a prescription drug

product approved by the U.S. food and drug administration.

2. Prohibits any person from producing hemp in this state without a license

from the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection if required

under federal law.

3. Allows DATCP to establish procedures for all of the following: a) maintaining

information relating to hemp production; b) testing for THC concentrations in hemp;

c) disposing of hemp plants grown illegally; d) complying with enforcement

provisions; and e) conducting annual inspections of hemp producers.

4. Provides that a hemp producer who negligently violates the provisions of the

hemp program or DATCP's rules relating to the hemp program must comply with a

plan established by DATCP to correct the violation. A compliance plan must include

a reasonable date by which the hemp producer is required to correct the violation and

must require the hemp producer to report to DATCP periodically, for not less than

two years, on the status of the producer's compliance with the plan. A hemp producer

who negligently violates the provisions of the hemp program or DATCP's rules

relating to the hemp program may not be criminally prosecuted; a hemp producer

who negligently violates those provisions three times in a five-year period is

ineligible to participate in the hemp program for five years.

5. Requires DATCP to immediately report a hemp producer who violates the

provisions of the hemp program or DATCP's rules relating to the hemp program with

a culpable mental state that is greater than negligence to the Department of Justice

and the U.S. attorney general.

6. Prohibits a person who materially falsifies any information contained in an

application for the hemp program from participating in the hemp program.

7. Prohibits a person from producing hemp for ten years following a felony

conviction relating to a controlled substance under state or federal law, unless the

person holds a valid license under any state's hemp pilot program on the effective

date of the bill.