Proposed Cultivation Regulations: New License Type "Processor"
The California Department of Food and Agriculture, CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing, released proposed regulations on April 28, 2017 that would create a new license type, the “Processor” license, for “a cultivation site that conducts only trimming, drying, curing, grading or packaging of cannabis and nonmanufactured cannabis products.”
While licensed processors may not cultivate cannabis onsite, according to the Initial Statement of Reasons (ISOR), processors “also may hold other types of cultivation licenses” for off-site cultivation. This new license category was created to accommodate the medical cannabis industry practice whereby “some cultivators send untrimmed, uncured, or unpackaged cannabis to locations off-site for processing (that is, not where the product is grown.)”
§ 8203. Cultivation License Types. License types include:
(f) “Processor” a cultivation site that conducts only trimming, drying, curing, grading or packaging of cannabis and nonmanufactured cannabis products.
This section defines the types of cultivation licenses the Department is responsible for issuing. In addition to the cultivation licenses required by BPC Section 19332 (g), the Department has created a processor license, as described below. […]
Subsection (f) defines the processor license, which was created by the Department. These proposed regulations are added to implement the authority to create new license types in BPC Section 19302.1 (e). During the scoping meetings held in September 2016, it was brought to the Department’s attention that some cultivators send untrimmed, uncured, or unpackaged cannabis to locations off-site for processing (that is, not where the product is grown). Sometimes local ordinances may require processing activities to occur away from cultivation areas. To accommodate these instances, the Department created a license type that will allow a business to be licensed solely for processing cannabis. The processor licensee also may hold other types of cultivation licenses, but would be prohibited from growing cannabis plants at a licensed processing facility. […]
These proposed regulations are added to clarify the statutory provision in BPC Section 19332 (g) and provides the industry with an additional type of license that is consistent with current industry practices.”
The above information is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. Please contact a lawyer for legal counsel.
If you would like legal assistance in advocating for changes to the proposed regulations, please get in touch with us. If you are interested in a legal consultation about the “Processor” license, the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA), or compliance with California’s cannabis laws, please contact the Law Offices of Omar Figueroa at (707) 829-0215 or at (415) 489-0420.