Streamline Marijuana Regulation

Current law allows the transfer of immature plants, seeds, and genetic material between a medical or retail cultivation facility and certain people, including people approved by rule. Sections 1, 7, and 10 of the bill allow this transfer from or to a medical or retail marijuana cultivation facility from or to a person permitted by another jurisdiction to possess or cultivate marijuana. The medical or retail cultivation facility must confirm that the purchaser is 21 years of age or older. The cultivation facility may accept online payments for the transfer. The state licensing authority may promulgate rules to implement the provision, but limits are placed on the rules that the state licensing authority may adopt. Section 2 limits the frequency at which regulated marijuana and a regulated marijuana product need to be tested to no more than once for each required test and otherwise requires the elimination of redundant testing. Section 2 also exempts the fungi in the genus aspergillus from product testing.

Current law requires beneficial owners and people who have access to the limited access areas of a medical marijuana business or retail marijuana business to have identification cards. Section 2 repeals the requirement that beneficial owners have identification cards, but retains the requirement that people with access to the limited access areas need to have identification cards. Section 2 also specifies that a licensee need not use radio frequency identification tags to tag or track marijuana and marijuana products.

Current law requires the marijuana enforcement division in the department of revenue (division) to promulgate rules requiring testing of marijuana and marijuana products for contaminants or substances that are harmful to health. Section 2 clarifies that these tests should be made to determine whether the contaminants or substances are present in amounts that are harmful to health. Current law allows a licensee to remediate marijuana or marijuana products that have failed a test. Section 2 removes a requirement that the licensee identify on the labeling that the product has failed a test when the product subsequently passed the same test. Section 2 also authorizes retesting when the marijuana or marijuana product has failed a test.

Current law authorizes the division to establish procedures to issue a conditional employee identification card, which allows an individual to work for a license holder, after the individual has submitted an initial application and the division has conducted an investigation regarding the application but before the fingerprint record check is finished. Section 2 requires the division to promulgate rules and issue the employee identification card upon initial review of the application.

The division is required to adopt rules authorizing a licensee to conduct fewer tests than normal upon demonstrating that the licensee's standard operating procedures and production practices result in consistent passing test results (program). Section 2 specifically authorizes this program and sets an expiration date for reduced testing under the program at 3 years. Sections 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 11 extend the initial license and license renewal periods from one year to 2 years. Section 3 requires the division to establish a system that allows a medical or retail marijuana business that transports marijuana or marijuana products to use an electronic manifest system. Section 5 requires the division to retain fingerprints submitted for initial licensure for use in a criminal history record check for license renewal. Section 5 also authorizes a person who holds multiple licenses or affiliated persons who hold multiple licenses to submit a unified application for license renewal. The license holders must elect to have one or more licenses expire in less than 2 years in order to coordinate the expiration date. Section 12 requires the division to promulgate rules categorizing each violation as a safety violation or a technical violation. The division will expunge technical violations from a licensee's record on the later date of one year after the violation is reported or when the license is renewed. Section 13 reduces the amount of time for which a marijuana licensee must retain books and records that show the business's transactions from 3 years to one year.

Current law requires that excise tax be levied on the first transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana. Section 14 specifies that the transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana exclusively for microbial control is not the first transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana for taxation purposes.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)