BILL NUMBER: AB 684 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 5, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 28, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 13, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Leno and DeVore
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Adams, Beall, Berg, Huffman, and
Saldana)
(Coauthor: Senator McClintock)
FEBRUARY 21, 2007
An act to amend Section 11018 of, and to add and repeal
Section 11018.5 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to
industrial hemp.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 684, as amended, Leno. Industrial hemp.
(1) Existing law makes it a crime to engage in any of various
transactions relating to marijuana, except as otherwise authorized by
law, such as the medical marijuana program. For the 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), 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 instead not include industrial hemp, as defined, except
where the plant is cultivated or processed for purposes not expressly
allowed for. The bill would define industrial hemp as an
agricultural field crop 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 which is incapable of germination.
This bill would also include specified products listed in the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States within the definition
of industrial hemp.
This bill would authorize a pilot program for the cultivation of
industrial hemp in 5 4 counties, as
specified, until January 1, 2013.
The bill would require industrial hemp to be cultivated only from
seeds imported in accordance with federal law or from seeds grown in
California, as specified. The bill would also require the person
growing the industrial hemp to obtain, prior to 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 that the test
report contain specified language, that the testing laboratory
provide not less than 10 original signed copies to the cultivator,
and that the testing laboratory retain an original signed copy for a
minimum of 2 years. The report would be required to be retained for 2
years, and to be made available to law enforcement officials and
provided to purchasers, as specified. 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 provide that this definition of industrial hemp
shall not be construed to authorize the cultivation,
production, or possession , outside of a field of
lawful cultivation, of resin, flowering tops, or leaves that
have been removed from the field of cultivation and
separated from the other constituent parts of the industrial
hemp plant , except to perform required testing
by an employee or agent of the testing laboratory; the transportation
or sale across state borders of any living plant of Cannabis sativa
L. or any seed of any type of Cannabis sativa L. that is capable of
germination, except in accordance with federal law; or any
cultivation of the industrial hemp plant that is not grown in a
research setting or as an agricultural field crop. This bill would
require the Attorney General and the Hemp Industries Association to
submit reports to the Legislature by January 1, 2012, regarding the
economic and law enforcement impacts of industrial hemp cultivation.
By revising the scope of application of existing crimes relating to
marijuana, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) 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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
"California Industrial Hemp Farming Act."
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Industrial hemp is produced in at least 30 nations, including
Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, Romania, Australia, and
China, and is used by industry to produce thousands of products,
including paper, textiles, food, oils, automotive parts, and personal
care products.
(b) The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has
ruled in Hemp Industries v. Drug Enforcement Administration, (9th
Cir. 2004) 357 F.3d 1012, that the federal Controlled Substances Act
of 1970 (21 U.S.C. Sec. 812(b)) explicitly excludes nonpsychoactive
hemp from the definition of marijuana, and the federal government has
declined to appeal that decision.
(c) The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 specifies the findings
to which the government must attest in order to classify a substance
as a schedule I drug and those findings include that the substance
has a high potential for abuse, has no accepted medical use, and has
a lack of accepted safety for use, none of which apply to industrial
hemp.
(d) According to a study commissioned by the Hemp Industries
Association, sales of industrial hemp products in the United States
have grown steadily since 1990 to two hundred seventy million dollars
($270,000,000) in 2005, increasing at a rate of approximately
twenty-six million dollars ($26,000,000) per year.
(e) California manufacturers of hemp products currently import
from around the world tens of thousands of acres' worth of hemp seed,
oil, and fiber products that could be produced by California farmers
at a more competitive price, and the intermediate processing of hemp
seed, oil, and fiber could create jobs in close proximity to the
fields of cultivation.
(f) In 1999, the Assembly passed House Resolution 32, which
resolved that "the domestic production of industrial hemp can help
protect California environment, contribute to the growth of the state
economy, and be regulated in a manner that will not interfere with
the enforcement of marijuana laws."
(g) Assessment of the economic benefits of industrial hemp
cultivation and determination of possible impacts on the enforcement
of laws prohibiting illicit marijuana cultivation are important
concerns; and, therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to
assess these benefits and impacts by creating a pilot program for
both industrial hemp research by established agricultural research
institutions and for the agricultural production of industrial hemp
in five four counties.
SEC. 3. Section 11018 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
11018. "Marijuana" means all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa
L., whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted
from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt,
derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds or resin.
It does not include industrial hemp, as defined in Section 11018.5,
except where the plant is cultivated or processed for purposes not
expressly allowed for by Section 11018.5.
SEC. 4. Section 11018.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
11018.5. (a) (1) "Industrial hemp" means an agricultural field
crop that is limited to nonpsychoactive types of the plant Cannabis
sativa L. and the seed produced therefrom, having no more than
three-tenths of 1 percent 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, or 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 which is incapable of germination.
(2) Industrial hemp shall include products imported under the
first revision of the 2007 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS), Section 1202 et seq. of Title 19 of the United States
Code, including "hemp seed" per subheading 1207.99.02.20, "hemp oil"
per subheading 1515.90.80.10, "true hemp" per subheadings
5302.10.00.00 and 5302.90.00.00, "true hemp yarn" per subheading
5308.20.00.00, and "woven fabrics of true hemp fibers" per subheading
5311.00.40.10.
(b) The provisions of this section shall apply only in
Butte, Imperial, Kings, Mendocino, and Yolo Counties,
except in the case of industrial hemp raw materials already legal
under federal law, the transportation of seed capable of germination
within California, and the transportation of samples for
testing at a laboratory registered with the federal Drug Enforcement
Administration pursuant to subdivision (c). Industrial hemp shall be
cultivated only from seeds imported in accordance with the laws of
the United States or from seeds grown in California from feral
plants, cultivated plants, or plants grown in a research setting. All
industrial hemp seed sold for planting in California shall be from a
crop having no more than three-tenths of 1 percent THC contained in
a random sampling of the dried flowering tops and tested under the
provisions of subdivision (c).
(c) A person who grows industrial hemp under this section shall
prior to the harvest of each crop and as provided below obtain a
laboratory test report indicating the THC levels of a random sampling
of the dried flowering tops of the industrial hemp grown.
(1) Sampling shall occur as practicable when the THC content of
the leaves surrounding the seeds is at its peak and shall commence as
the seeds begin to mature, when the first seeds of approximately 50
percent of the plants are resistant to compression.
(2) The entire fruit-bearing part of the plant including the seeds
shall be used as a sample. The sample cut shall be made directly
underneath the inflorescence found in the top one-third of the plant.
(3) Samples to perform the testing pursuant to this section shall
be collected and transported only by an employee or agent of a
laboratory that is registered with the federal Drug Enforcement
Administration.
(4) The laboratory test report shall be issued by a laboratory
registered with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, shall
state the percentage content of THC, shall indicate the date and
location of samples taken, and shall state the Global Positioning
System (GPS) coordinates and total acreage of the crop. If the
laboratory test report indicates a percentage content of THC that is
equal to or less than three-tenths of 1 percent, the words "PASSED AS
CALIFORNIA INDUSTRIAL HEMP" shall appear at or near the top of the
laboratory test report. If the laboratory test report indicates a
percentage content of THC that is greater than three-tenths of 1
percent, the words "FAILED AS CALIFORNIA INDUSTRIAL HEMP" shall
appear at or near the top of the laboratory test report.
(5) If the laboratory test report indicates a percentage content
of THC that is equal to or less than three-tenths of 1 percent, the
laboratory shall provide the person who requested the testing not
less than 10 original copies signed by an employee authorized by the
laboratory and shall retain one or more original copies of the
laboratory test report for a minimum of two years from its date of
sampling.
(6) If the laboratory test report indicates a percentage content
of THC that is greater than three-tenths of 1 percent and does not
exceed 1 percent, the person who grows industrial hemp shall submit
additional samples for testing of the industrial hemp grown.
(7) A person who grows industrial hemp shall destroy the
industrial hemp grown upon receipt of a first laboratory test report
indicating a percentage content of THC that exceeds 1 percent or a
second laboratory test report pursuant to paragraph (6) indicating a
percentage content of THC that exceeds three-tenths of 1 percent. The
destruction shall take place as soon as practicable but no later
than 45 days after receipt of a laboratory test report that requires
crop destruction pursuant to this section.
(8) Paragraph (7) does not apply to industrial hemp grown in a
research setting if the destruction of the industrial hemp grown will
impede the development of types of industrial hemp that will comply
with the three-tenths of 1 percent THC limit established in this
section.
(9) The person who grows industrial hemp shall retain an original
signed copy of the laboratory test report for two years from its date
of sampling, make an original signed copy of the laboratory test
report available to law enforcement officials upon request, and shall
provide an original copy of the laboratory test report to each
person purchasing, transporting, or otherwise obtaining from the
person who grows industrial hemp the fiber, oil, cake, or seed of the
plant.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), this section shall not be
construed to authorize and thereby prohibits the following:
(1) The cultivation, production, or possession
possession, outside of a field of lawful cultivation, of
resin, flowering tops, or leaves that have been removed from the
field of cultivation and separated from the other
constituent parts of the industrial hemp plant, except as
is necessary for an employee or agent of a laboratory
registered with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to
perform the testing pursuant to subdivision (c).
(2) The transportation or sale across state borders of any living
plant of Cannabis sativa L. or any seed of any type of Cannabis
sativa L. that is capable of germination, except in accordance with
the laws of the United States.
(3) Any cultivation of the industrial hemp plant that is not grown
in a research setting or as an agricultural field crop.
(e) Not later than January 1, 2012, the Attorney General shall
report to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Agriculture and the
Assembly and Senate Committees on Public Safety the reported
incidents, if any, of the following:
(1) A field of industrial hemp being used to disguise marijuana
cultivation.
(2) Claims in a court hearing by person other that those exempted
in subdivision (d) that marijuana is industrial hemp.
(f) Not later than January 1, 2012, the Hemp Industries
Association shall report to the Assembly and Senate Committees on
Agriculture and the Assembly and Senate Committees on Public Safety
the following:
(1) The economic impacts of industrial hemp cultivation,
processing, and product manufacturing in California.
(2) The economic impacts of industrial hemp cultivation,
processing, and product manufacturing in other states that may have
permitted industrial hemp cultivation.
(g) This section shall remain in effect until January 1, 2013, and
as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is
enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.