Industrial Hemp Emergency Regulations on Sampling, Testing & Destruction Approved by OAL
On June 10, 2019 the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the emergency regulations pertaining to industrial hemp sampling, laboratory testing, and destruction that were submitted by the California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA). Specifically, these emergency regulations are now codified in Sections 4940, 4941, 4942, 4943, 4944, 4945, 4946, 4950 & 4950.1 of Title 3, Division 8, Chapter 4 of the California Code of Regulations. This follows the recent adoption of the regulation regarding industrial hemp licensing application fees and CDFA’s release of the application to cultivate industrial hemp.
The new regulations went into effect immediately, and will be in place for at least 180 days. CDFA will conduct a regular rulemaking process during this timeframe to receive public input as to what the permanent industrial hemp regulations should be. (You can learn about the differences between the Regular Rulemaking Process and the Emergency Rulemaking Process here.) According to CDFA’s Finding of Emergency, the emergency rulemaking process was used this time due to the fact that the CDFA wanted some rules in place prior to the first industrial hemp harvest, which they estimate could occur as early as this month.
Notably, the industrial hemp emergency regulations that were just adopted only require that hemp be tested for THC content. This could be problematic from a public health perspective, considering that many people are consuming products made with hemp-derived ingredients that might not have been produced to standards fit for human consumption. However, it is possible that the permanent industrial hemp regulations will include more thorough testing requirements. Additionally, the emergency industrial hemp regulations do not contemplate any possibility of transitioning non-compliant hemp crops that failed for having too much THC into the regulated cannabis supply chain. Again though, perhaps this will be considered during the regular rulemaking process.
Stay tuned for more updates regarding the roll-out of California’s industrial hemp program.
This information is provided as an educational service, and is not intended as legal advice. For questions regarding industrial hemp or cannabis licensing and regulations, contact the Law Offices of Omar Figueroa to schedule a confidential legal consultation at (707) 829-0215 or info@omarfigueroa.com.