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AB-404 Commercial cannabis activity: testing laboratories.(2019-2020)

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Date Published: 10/14/2019 09:00 PM
AB404:v96#DOCUMENT

Assembly Bill No. 404
CHAPTER 799

An act to amend Section 26100 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to cannabis.

[ Approved by Governor  October 12, 2019. Filed with Secretary of State  October 12, 2019. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 404, Mark Stone. Commercial cannabis activity: testing laboratories.
The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), an initiative measure enacted by the approval of Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, provides for the licensure and regulation of businesses that engage in commercial cannabis activity, including licensed testing laboratories. Existing law prohibits cannabis and cannabis products from being sold unless a representative sample of the cannabis or cannabis products have been tested by a licenced testing laboratory. Existing law requires, for each batch tested, that a testing laboratory issue a certificate of analysis for selected lots to report specified information, including whether the profile of the sample conforms to the labeled contents of compounds.
This bill would authorize a testing laboratory to amend a certificate of analysis under these provisions to correct minor errors, as defined by the Bureau of Cannabis Control. The bill would also authorize the testing laboratory to retest the sample, if the test result falls outside the specifications authorized by law or regulation, when the testing laboratory notifies the bureau, in writing, that the test was compromised due to equipment malfunction, staff error, or other circumstances allowed by the bureau and the bureau authorizes the retest.
AUMA authorizes the Legislature to amend by majority vote certain provisions of the act to implement specified substantive provisions, provided that the amendments are consistent with and further the purposes and intent of AUMA.
This bill would declare that its provisions implement specified substantive provisions of AUMA and are consistent with and further the purposes and intent of AUMA.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 26100 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

26100.
 (a) Except as otherwise provided by law, cannabis or cannabis products shall not be sold pursuant to a license provided for under this division unless a representative sample of the cannabis or cannabis products has been tested by a licensed testing laboratory.
(b) The bureau shall develop criteria to determine which batches shall be tested. All testing of the samples shall be performed on the final form in which the cannabis or cannabis product will be consumed or used.
(c) Testing of batches to meet the requirements of this division shall only be conducted by a licensed testing laboratory.
(d) For each batch tested, the testing laboratory shall issue a certificate of analysis for selected lots at a frequency determined by the bureau with supporting data, to report both of the following:
(1) Whether the chemical profile of the sample conforms to the labeled content of compounds, including, but not limited to, all of the following, unless limited through regulation by the bureau:
(A) Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
(B) Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid (THCA).
(C) Cannabidiol (CBD).
(D) Cannabidiolic Acid (CBDA).
(E) The terpenes required by the bureau in regulation.
(F) Cannabigerol (CBG).
(G) Cannabinol (CBN).
(H) Any other compounds or contaminants required by the bureau.
(2) That the presence of contaminants does not exceed the levels established by the bureau. In establishing the levels, the bureau shall consider the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia monograph, guidelines set by the Department of Pesticide Regulation pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 26060, and any other relevant sources. For purposes of this paragraph, “contaminants” includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Residual solvent or processing chemicals.
(B) Foreign material, including, but not limited to, hair, insects, or similar or related adulterant.
(C) Microbiological impurities as identified by the bureau in regulation.
(e) A testing laboratory may amend a certificate of analysis to correct minor errors, as defined by the bureau.
(f) Standards for residual levels of volatile organic compounds shall be established by the bureau.
(g) The testing laboratory shall conduct all testing required by this section in a manner consistent with general requirements for the competence of testing and calibrations activities, including sampling and using verified methods.
(h) All testing laboratories performing tests pursuant to this section shall obtain and maintain ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation as required by the bureau in regulation.
(i) (1) If a test result falls outside the specifications authorized by law or regulation, the testing laboratory shall follow a standard operating procedure to confirm or refute the original result.
(2) If a test result falls outside the specifications authorized by law or regulation, the testing laboratory may retest the sample if both of the following occur:
(A) The testing laboratory notifies the bureau, in writing, that the test was compromised due to equipment malfunction, staff error, or other circumstances allowed by the bureau.
(B) The bureau authorizes the testing laboratory to retest the sample.
(j) A testing laboratory shall destroy the remains of the sample of medical cannabis or medical cannabis product upon completion of the analysis, as determined by the bureau through regulations.
(k) Any presale inspection, testing transfer, or transportation of cannabis products pursuant to this section shall conform to a specified chain of custody protocol and any other requirements imposed under this division.
(l) This division does not prohibit a licensee from performing testing on the licensee’s premises for the purposes of quality assurance of the product in conjunction with reasonable business operations. This division also does not prohibit a licensee from performing testing on the licensee’s premises of cannabis or cannabis products obtained from another licensee. Onsite testing by the licensee shall not be certified by the bureau and does not exempt the licensee from the requirements of quality assurance testing at a testing laboratory pursuant to this section.

SEC. 2.

 The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act, amending Section 26100 of the Business and Professions Code, implements Section 6 of the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act of 2016 and is consistent with and furthers the purposes and intent of that act as stated in Section 3 of that act.