Existing law makes it a crime to engage in any of various transactions relating to marijuana, as defined, except as otherwise authorized by law, such as the Medical Marijuana Program. For purposes of these provisions, marijuana is defined as not including the mature stalks of the plant, fiber produced from the stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the mature stalks, except the resin extracted therefrom, and fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of the plant which is incapable of germination.

This bill would revise the definition of “marijuana” so that the term would exclude industrial hemp, as defined, except where the plant is cultivated or processed for purposes not expressly allowed. The bill would define industrial hemp as a fiber or oilseed crop, or both, that is limited to the nonpsychoactive types of the plant Cannabis sativa L. and the seed produced therefrom, having no more than ³/₁₀ of 1% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) contained in the dried flowering tops, and that is cultivated and processed exclusively for the purpose of producing the mature stalks of the plant, fiber produced from the stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the mature stalks, except the resin or flowering tops extracted therefrom, fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of the plant that is incapable of germination.

The bill would enact provisions relating to growing industrial hemp that would impose specified procedures and requirements on a person who grows industrial hemp, except when grown by an established agricultural research institution or seed breeder, as defined, that would become operative when authorized under federal law. The bill would require a person growing the industrial hemp to obtain, before the harvest of each crop, a laboratory test of a random sample of the crop to determine the amount of THC in the crop. The bill would require the laboratory test report to be issued by a laboratory registered by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and would require the person growing industrial hemp to make the report available to law enforcement officials and specified other persons. The bill would require all industrial hemp seed sold for planting in California to be from a crop having no more than ³/₁₀ of 1% THC contained in a random sampling of the dried flowering tops and tested under these provisions, and would require the destruction of crops exceeding that content, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture to regulate the development, growth, and sale of industrial hemp seed harvesting and activities regarding the sale of viable industrial hemp seeds, and would authorize the department to promulgate additional regulations to ensure compliance with these provisions or with federal law.

The bill would provide that growing industrial hemp shall not be construed to authorize, among other things, the possession, outside of a field of lawful cultivation, of resin, flowering tops, or leaves that have been removed from the hemp plant, except as necessary to perform the required laboratory testing. This bill would require the Attorney General and the Hemp Industries Association to submit reports to the Legislature by January 1, 2019, or 5 years after the provisions of the measure are authorized under federal law, whichever is later, regarding the economic and law enforcement impacts of industrial hemp cultivation.

The bill would state the findings and declarations of the Legislature relating to industrial hemp.

By revising the scope of application of existing crimes relating to marijuana, this bill would impose a state‑mandated local program.

By specifying the conditions of cultivation, the violation of which would be a misdemeanor pursuant to other provisions of existing law, 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.

This bill would provide that the provisions of this act would not become operative unless authorized under federal law, and, when the provisions become operative, would require the Attorney General to post the fact that this act has become operative on its Internet Web site.