This bill is part of the 2023 Cannabis Bills section of our ongoing update on California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update which includes information on cannabis bills from other years.
AB 420 (Aguiar-Curry D) Cannabis: industrial hemp.
The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act of 2016 (AUMA), an initiative measure approved as Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, authorizes a person who obtains a state license under AUMA to engage in commercial adult-use cannabis activity pursuant to that license and applicable local ordinances. The Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities and requires the Department of Cannabis Control to administer its provisions.
Existing law governs the cultivation of industrial hemp in this state and establishes a registration program administered by county agricultural commissioners and the Department of Food and Agriculture for growers of industrial hemp, hemp breeders, and established agricultural research institutions, as defined.
The Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, among other things, regulates the labeling of food, beverages, and cosmetics and makes it a crime to distribute in commerce any food, drug, device, or cosmetic if its packaging or labeling does not conform to these provisions. Violation of the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law is a misdemeanor. Existing law also requires hemp manufacturers who produce specified products that include industrial hemp or who produce raw hemp extract, as defined, to complete a registration process, under the State Department of Public Health, and to meet various requirements for testing and labeling on products.
Existing law exempts industrial hemp, as defined, from the definition of cannabis and from MAUCRSA, but requires the Department of Cannabis Control to prepare a report, on or before July 1, 2022, to the Governor and the Legislature outlining the steps necessary to allow for the incorporation of hemp cannabinoids into the cannabis supply chain.
This bill would state that MAUCRSA does not prohibit a licensee from manufacturing, distributing, or selling products that contain industrial hemp or cannabinoids, extracts, or derivatives from industrial hemp, if the product complies with all applicable state laws and regulations. The bill would revise and recast the provisions with the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, regulating industrial hemp to redefine certain terms, expand the prohibition that raw hemp extract not exceed 0.3% of a tetrahydrocannabinol comparable cannabinoid, and prohibit the manufacture, distribution, or sale of an industrial hemp product that contains a cannabinoid that is not present in nature in commercially meaningful quantities, unless authorized by the department in regulation. The bill would require an out-of-state hemp manufacturer who produces an industrial hemp product that is a food or beverage for sale in this state to register with the department. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Read more about California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update.
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