BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1147
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 27, 2005
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Barbara S. Matthews, Chair
AB 1147 (Leno) - As Amended: April 25, 2005
SUBJECT : Industrial hemp: license for commercial purposes.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the growing of industrial hemp in California
under specified conditions, for sale only within California.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Creates new definitions for:
a) "Industrial hemp" as an oilseed and fiber crop of the family
Cannabis Sativa L, having no more than 3/10 of 1%
tetrahydrocannabinol and is grown wholly within California from
instate seed stock for the exclusive purpose of producing
products.
b) "Tetrahydrocannabinol" (THC) means the natural or synthetic
substance of cannabis, or chemicals and their isomers with
similar chemical structure and pharmacological activities.
2)Requires anyone growing for commercial purposes industrial hemp to
comply with the following:
a) A grower shall file with the California Department of Food
and Agriculture (CDFA) documentation that: 1) the hemp seeds
are of a type and variety that have no more than 3/10 of 1% of
THC as tested and reported by a federal Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) approved laboratory; 2) that a contract to
grow hemp has been entered into; 3) describes the location and
acreage of a crop. Requires this document be made available to
law enforcement upon request and restricts it from being
disclosed to the public under the state's Public Records Act.
b) Requires CDFA to adopt rules for the testing of industrial
hemp during the growing for levels of THC and for supervision
requirements during growing season and harvest.
c) Prohibits a grower from removing from operation any element
other than mature stalks, fiber, or viable seed for sale,
distribution, or introduction into commerce within California.
d) Prohibits a grower from selling or distributing mature
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stalks, fiber, or viable seed to anyone other than a primary
processor licensed under these provisions.
e) Requires growers to notify CDFA regarding the sale or
distribution of any seed or stalk grown by the person, and
disclose the name of any licensed primary processor to whom
viable seed had been sold.
f) Permits CDFA to contract with county agricultural
commissioner for their services.
3)Requires any person desiring to operate as a processor of viable
industrial hemp seed or nonviable seed derivatives to apply to
CDFA for a license on a form prescribed by CDFA.
4)Requires CDFA to adopt regulations for the issuance of licenses,
that criteria shall include but not be limited by the following:
a) Restricts permit holders [licensees] from selling or trading
viable hemp seed outside of the State of California.
b) Requires licenses to be renewed every two years.
c) Prohibits anyone with a prior criminal conviction to be
eligible for a license.
5)Requires each person licensed as a primary processor to be subject
to the following requirements:
a) Requires licensed processors to render each seed into a
nonviable seed derivative.
b) Requires licensee to test for THC levels of any derived
products by a DEA approved laboratory and report said test to
CDFA in a form and schedule under regulations adopted by CDFA.
c) Prohibits hemp oil products grown in California, to have
trace amounts of THC in excess of 5 parts per million.
d) Prohibits hemp nut products grown in California, to have
trace amounts of THC in excess of 1.5 parts per million.
6)Requires CDFA to assess all licensees a fee sufficient to cover
the cost of monitoring and testing.
7)Authorizes the University of California (UC) to conduct research
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related to production and processing of industrial hemp as
follows:
a) Requires one element of research be the development and
dissemination of technology important to the production and
utilization of commercial crop and livestock enterprises.
b) Requires the research to provide for the enhancement of the
quality of life, sustainability or production and protection of
the environment.
c) Permits the UC, as part of its research, to collect feral
hemp seed stock and develop appropriate adapted strains of
industrial hemp which contains less than 3/10 of 1% of THC.
d) Requires the UC to report its findings to CDFA.
8)Adds the signed documents by "Industrial hemp" growers to the list
of documentation exempt from public disclosure due to the
confidentiality of proprietary information nature.
EXISTING LAW prohibits the growing or possessing of any "cannabis"
varieties, except as permitted by the DEA. Federal statutes preempt
state authority to deal with industrial hemp by defining it as
"cannabis" which is the same as marijuana, and that THC is a Class 1
drug prohibiting its cultivation, sale or possession of any plant
containing any level of THC. Recent ruling by the Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals upheld the right for processors to import, possess
and process nonviable industrial hemp seed into products and upturn
DEA's interpretation of natural occurring THC being a Class I drug.
Specifically the court opinion stated:
"Appellants manufacture, distribute, or sell comestible items
containing oil or sterilized seeds from "hemp" - a species of
plant within the genus Cannabis. They challenge two Drug
Enforcement Administration ("DEA") regulations that, taken
together, would ban the sale or possession of such items even
if they contain only non-psychoactive trace amounts of
tetrahydrocannabinols ("THC"). The DEA asserts that natural,
as well as synthetic, THC is included in Schedule I of the
Controlled Substances Act ("CSA"). We have previously held
that the definition of "THC" in Schedule I refers only to
synthetic THC, and that any THC occurring naturally within
Cannabis is banned only if it falls within the Schedule I
definition of "marijuana." We reiterate that ruling here: in
accordance with Schedule I, the DEA's relevant rules and
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regulations may be enforced only insofar as they ban the
presence of marijuana or synthetic THC."
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed fiscal by Legislative
Counsel.
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill is needed since state
statute is silent on the growing of industrial hemp and the "U.S.
Government mistakenly categorized hemp with cannabis due to their
physical similarities and the fact that hemp contains THC."
Further, the federal government permits the manufacturing and sale
of hemp products of every kind. Hemp has so little THC that it
physically cannot be used as an intoxicant and is 100% safe for
consumers. Consumers can purchase hemp cloths and food products
throughout California.
Industrial hemp is a versatile commodity that can be used for paper,
clothing, rope, food products, biocomposite products that can
replace fiberglass and plastics, biofuel to produce ethanol, as well
as body care products. Hemp contains essential amino acids and is
an alternative source of protein. In fact, our nation's Declaration
of Independence is written on hemp paper.
Statistics on hemp grown in Canada show the acreage has grown from
3,200 in 2001 to an estimated 10,000-15,000 in 2005. It is grown
under dry land farming and irrigated environments needing similar
fertilizer requirements as corn and uses little pesticides as it
shades out competing weeds.
The value of industrial hemp is in the stalks and seeds and not the
flowers as it is with marijuana. Hemp growers need to have the
flowers pollinate which requires both the male and female plants in
a planning. Marijuana growers remove the male plants in order to
prevent the pollination. Any inadvertent commingling of industrial
hemp pollen with that of marijuana could cause problems for both
plantings. The low THC hemp could be increased while the high THC
marijuana could be reduced, potentially to levels that would
eliminate the plants' street value.
The Legislature has discussed the legalization of industrial hemp
previously (see "Related legislation below) with varied success.
The major difference from previous legislation is the recent U.S.
Ninth Court of Appeals decision filed in June of 2004 which upheld
the same court's ruling from earlier in 2004. This decision upheld
the differentiation between industrial hemp and marijuana. By
authorizing the planting and sale of industrial hemp along with the
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resulting products only within California, while it may be in
conflict with federal authority, AB 1147 could create the basis for
a lawsuit which would challenge that authority.
Related legislation : AB 388 (Strom-Martin) of 2002 requests the
University of California to assess the economic opportunities of
specialty or alternative fiber crops, including industrial hemp,
kenaf, and flax utilizing information from other states and
countries, and to report by January 1, 2004, to the Assembly
Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Agriculture and Water
Resources Committee. This bill was vetoed by Governor Davis.
AB 448 (Strom-Martin) of 2001 directed the CDFA, in consultation
with the Attorney General, to establish rules and regulations for
the licensure and growing of industrial hemp. It provided
definitions and made it a crime to violate any provision of this
division. The bill failed in Assembly Committee on Agriculture
Committee May 2001.
HR 32 (Strom-Martin) of 1999 was passed by the Assembly on September
10, 1999 by a vote of 41-30. HR 32 made legislative findings and
declarations regarding industrial hemp and suggested that the
Legislature take specific actions to encourage the production of
industrial hemp, and to consider actions to revise the legal status
of industrial hemp.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
AB 1147
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Alice's Mountain Market
Alta Vista Growers
Burcaw Chiropractic
California Certified Organic Farmers
CDM Corp
Center for Healing
Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps
Eagle Trust Union
Environmental Wholesale Products
Eco Goods
EnvirongGentle
French Meadow Bakery
Heartsong Herbal Brewing Company
Heavenly Low Carb
Hemp Industries Association
Hemp Sisters
Hemp Traders
Hempy's
J. Ginsberg & Associates
Knoll Farms
Living Foods.Com
Luvland Farms Lavender
Malu Healthcare
New Hope Natural Media
North American Industrial Hemp Council, Inc.
Nutiva
Organic Consumers Association
Organic Ad Advisors
PAD
Rainforest Action Network
Raw 4 Real
Robinson's Health Products
Salon Charisma
Sierra Club California
Strictly Hemp.com
Sweetgrass Natural Fibers
The City and County of San Francisco
The Living Temple
Vote Hemp
Whole Balance
Opposition
Responsible Citizens, Inc.
AB 1147
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Analysis Prepared by : Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084