Source: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodefull/title3.2/chapter41.1/
Timestamp: 2019-10-15 21:31:46
Document Index: 308460008

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 18', '§ 18', '§ 54', '§ 18', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 10113', '§ 3', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3']

Code of Virginia Code - Chapter 41.1. Industrial Hemp
Table of Contents » Title 3.2. Agriculture, Animal Care, and Food » Chapter 41.1. Industrial Hemp
Chapter 41.1. Industrial Hemp.
"Dealer" means any person who is registered pursuant to subsection A of § 3.2-4115 to deal in industrial hemp. "Dealer" does not include (i) a grower, (ii) a processor, or (iii) any person who buys industrial hemp for personal use or retail sale in Virginia.
"Hemp product" means any finished product that is otherwise lawful and that contains industrial hemp, including rope, building materials, automobile parts, animal bedding, animal feed, cosmetics, oil containing an industrial hemp extract, or food or food additives for human consumption.
"Industrial hemp" means any part of the plant Cannabis sativa, including seeds thereof and any derivative, extract, cannabinoid, isomer, acid, salt, or salt of an isomer, whether growing or not, with a concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol that is no greater than that allowed by federal law.
"Process" means to convert industrial hemp into a hemp product.
§ 3.2-4113. Production of industrial hemp lawful.
A. It is lawful for a grower or his agent to grow, a dealer or his agent to deal in, or a processor or his agent to process industrial hemp in the Commonwealth for any lawful purpose. No grower or his agent, dealer or his agent, or processor or his agent shall be prosecuted under § 18.2-247, 18.2-248, 18.2-248.01, 18.2-248.1, 18.2-250, or 18.2-250.1 for the possession, growing, dealing, or processing of industrial hemp. In any complaint, information, or indictment, and in any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement of any provision of Article 1 (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2 or the Drug Control Act (§ 54.1-3400 et seq.), it shall not be necessary to negate any exception, excuse, proviso, or exemption contained in this chapter or the Drug Control Act, and the burden of proof of any such exception, excuse, proviso, or exemption shall be on the defendant.
B. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize any person to violate any federal law or regulation.
C. No person shall be prosecuted under § 18.2-247, 18.2-248, 18.2-248.01, 18.2-248.1, 18.2-250, or 18.2-250.1 for the involuntary growth of industrial hemp through the inadvertent natural spread of seeds or pollen as a result of proximity to a production field, dealership, or process site.
2015, cc. 158, 180; 2016, cc. 61, 170; 2018, cc. 689, 690; 2019, cc. 653, 654.
§ 3.2-4114. Regulations.
§ 3.2-4114.1. Repealed.
Repealed by Acts 2019, cc. 653 and 654, cl. 2, effective March 21, 2019.
§ 3.2-4114.2. Authority of Commissioner; notice to law enforcement; report.
A. The Commissioner may charge a nonrefundable fee not to exceed $50 for any application for registration or renewal of registration allowed under this chapter. The Commissioner may charge a nonrefundable fee for the tetrahydrocannabinol testing allowed under this chapter. All fees collected by the Commissioner shall be deposited in the state treasury.
B. The Commissioner shall notify the Superintendent of State Police of the locations of all industrial hemp production fields, dealerships, and process sites.
C. The Commissioner shall forward a copy or appropriate electronic record of each registration issued by the Commissioner under this chapter to the chief law-enforcement officer of the county or city where industrial hemp will be grown, dealt, or processed.
D. The Commissioner shall be responsible for monitoring the industrial hemp grown, dealt, or processed by a person registered pursuant to subsection A of § 3.2-4115 and shall provide for random testing of the industrial hemp, at the cost of the grower, dealer, or processor, for compliance with tetrahydrocannabinol limits and for other appropriate purposes established pursuant to § 3.2-4114. In addition to any routine inspection and sampling, the Commissioner may inspect and sample the industrial hemp at any production field, dealership, or process site during normal business hours without advance notice if he has reason to believe a violation of this chapter is occurring or has occurred.
E. The Commissioner may require a grower, dealer, or processor to destroy, at the cost of the grower, dealer, or processor and in a manner approved of and verified by the Commissioner, any Cannabis sativa that the grower grows, in which the dealer deals, or that the processor processes that has been tested and is found to have a concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol that is greater than that allowed by federal law, or any Cannabis sativa product that the processor produces.
F. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection E, if the provisions of subdivisions 1 and 2 are included in a plan that (i) is submitted by the Department pursuant to § 10113 of the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, P.L. 115-334, (ii) requires the Department to monitor and regulate the production of industrial hemp in the Commonwealth, and (iii) is approved by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture:
G. The Commissioner shall advise the Attorney General of the United States and the Superintendent of State Police or the chief law-enforcement officer of the appropriate county or city when, with a culpable mental state greater than negligence, a grower grows, a dealer deals in, or a processor processes any Cannabis sativa with a concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol that is greater than that allowed by federal law or a processor produces a Cannabis sativa product.
H. The Commissioner may pursue any permits or waivers from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration or appropriate federal agency that he determines to be necessary for the advancement of the industrial hemp industry.
I. The Commissioner may establish a corrective action plan to address a negligent violation of any provision of this chapter.
2018, cc. 689, 690; 2019, cc. 653, 654.
§ 3.2-4115. Issuance of registrations.
A. The Commissioner shall establish a registration program to allow a person to grow, deal in, or process industrial hemp in the Commonwealth.
B. Any person seeking to grow, deal in, or process industrial hemp in the Commonwealth shall apply to the Commissioner for a registration on a form provided by the Commissioner. At a minimum, the application shall include:
2. The legal description and geographic data sufficient for locating (i) the land on which the applicant intends to grow industrial hemp, (ii) the site at which the applicant intends to deal in industrial hemp, or (iii) the site at which the applicant intends to process industrial hemp. A registration shall authorize industrial hemp growth, dealing in, or processing only at the location specified in the registration;
5. Written consent allowing the Commissioner or his designee to enter the premises on which the industrial hemp is grown, dealt in, or processed to conduct inspections and sampling of the industrial hemp to ensure compliance with the requirements of this chapter;
6. A statement of the approximate square footage or acreage of the location he intends to use as a production field, dealership, or process site;
7. Any other information required by the Commissioner; and
8. The payment of a nonrefundable application fee, in an amount set by the Commissioner not to exceed $50.
D. All records, data, and information filed in support of a registration application submitted pursuant to this section shall be considered proprietary and excluded from the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.).
§ 3.2-4116. Registration conditions.
A. A person shall obtain a registration pursuant to subsection A of § 3.2-4115 prior to growing, dealing in, or processing any industrial hemp in the Commonwealth.
B. A person issued a registration pursuant to subsection A of § 3.2-4115 shall:
4. Allow the Commissioner or his designee to monitor and test the grower's, dealer's, or processor's industrial hemp for compliance with tetrahydrocannabinol levels and for other appropriate purposes established pursuant to § 3.2-4114, at the cost of the grower, dealer, or processor; and
5. If required by the Commissioner, destroy, at the cost of the grower, dealer, or processor and in a manner approved of and verified by the Commissioner, any Cannabis sativa that the grower grows, the dealer deals in, or the processor processes that has been tested and, following any re-sampling and retesting as authorized pursuant to the provisions of § 3.2-4114.2, is found to have a concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol that is greater than that allowed by federal law, or any Cannabis sativa product that the processor produces.
§ 3.2-4117. Repealed.
§ 3.2-4119. Eligibility to receive tobacco settlement funds.
§ 3.2-4120. Repealed.
Repealed by Acts 2018, cc. 689 and 690, cl. 2.