Intoxicating Hemp And Tetrahydrocannabinol Products

Section 2 of the bill prohibits:

• The manufacture, sale, offering for sale, storage, or delivery of an adult use cannabis product that is not manufactured by a person licensed under the "Colorado Marijuana Code" (license holder);
• The manufacture, sale, offering for sale, storage, or delivery of a product containing industrial hemp that is for human consumption and that is not food, a cosmetic, a dietary supplement, a food additive, an herb, or an over-the-counter drug that contains industrial hemp; and
• The manufacture, sale, offering for sale, storage, or delivery of an industrial hemp product that was not manufactured by a registered wholesale food manufacturer.

Section 3 imposes a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for:

• Manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, storing, or delivering an adult use cannabis product that is not manufactured by a license holder; and
• Violating a permit requirement for industrial hemp products established by rule.

These penalties are credited to the the wholesale food manufacturing and storage protection cash fund.

Section 4 prohibits a political subdivision of Colorado from promulgating or enforcing additional duties for or standards for food safety applicable to premises or places where industrial hemp products are held for distribution, produced, manufactured, packed, processed, prepared, treated, packaged, or transported.

Current law authorizes the department of public health and environment (department) to require permits for manufacturing food that may be contaminated so that it is injurious to health. The department may establish standards for the permits and manufacturing. Section 5 :

• Adds dietary supplements, food additives, cosmetics, and industrial hemp products to this provision;
• Adds that an ingredient that is injurious to health also authorizes the department to require a permit.

Section 6 requires a political subdivision of Colorado to get department approval to perform food safety inspections at facilities used to store, manufacture, produce, pack, process, treat, package, or transport industrial hemp products.

Current law declares industrial hemp products not adulterated unless the product violates certain provisions. Section 7 adds that an industrial hemp product is deemed adulterated if the product is an adult use cannabis product and is not manufactured by a license holder. Section 7 authorizes a wholesale food manufacturing facility to sell, produce, or possess products containing artificially derived cannabinoids only if:

• The facility is registered;
• The product is an industrial hemp product;
• The product is not intoxicating; and
• Prior to distribution and sale, the manufacturing facility has provided the marijuana enforcement division (division) samples and information concerning the product.

Section 9 authorizes the division to promulgate rules, with the technical assistance of the department, to define the amount of one or more tetrahydrocannabinols that results in the designation of a product as an adult use cannabis product. Section 9 also requires the division to promulgate rules to regulate the manufacturing, distribution, and sale of adult use cannabis products as retail marijuana products. Section 10 prohibits a retail marijuana store from offering for sale or accepting an adult use cannabis product that was not properly designated as and transferred to it by a licensed retail marijuana products manufacturer or accelerator manufacturer. Section 11 prohibits a retail marijuana manufacturer from transferring an adult use cannabis product unless the person holds the appropriate license under the "Colorado Marijuana Code". Section 12 makes it a deceptive trade practice to violate the provisions of the bill that apply to hemp, cannabis, or anything made from hemp or cannabis.Section 1 of the bill authorizes the department of public health and environment to prohibit the chemical modification, conversion, or synthetic derivation of intoxicating tetrahydrocannabinol isomers that originate from industrial hemp or may be synthetically derived. Section 2 creates a task force to study intoxicating hemp products and make legislative and rule recommendations. The task force will submit a report to the general assembly, by January 1, 2023. The task force consists of 20 members including representatives of state government, experts in marijuana and industrial hemp regulation, persons licensed in the marijuana and medical marijuana fields, persons working with industrial hemp, testing laboratories, and a representative of a county or district public health agency. Section 3 declares it a deceptive trade practice to violate provisions that apply to hemp, industrial hemp, industrial hemp products, intoxicating hemp, adult use cannabis products, the plant cannabis sp., or anything derived from or produced from the plant cannabis sp. Section 4 appropriates $587,347 to the department of law to implement the bill.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)