On September 21, 2018, the Colorado Department of Revenue Marijuana Enforcement Division the (“MED”), the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (“CDPHE”), and the Colorado Department of Agriculture (“CDA”) issued a bulletin authorizing licensed Retail Marijuana Testing Facilities to test industrial hemp and industrial hemp products derived from hemp cultivated by a CDA registrant. The agencies issued the bulletin in an effort to propose amendments to current regulations and engage stakeholders in a discussion to address the scope and extent of industrial hemp and hemp products testing in Colorado.
Prior to the bulletin, Colorado law permitted MED licensed retail marijuana testing facilities to test industrial hemp, but only unprocessed plant material and only for testing potency. The proposed amendment to the rules would allow such testing facilities to test unprocessed industrial hemp plant material as well as industrial hemp products under certain circumstances. The agencies’ proposal authorizes testing on industrial hemp and industrial hemp products so long as the following requirements are met:
- The person submitting the sample for testing provides the retail marijuana testing facility with a CDA registration number indicating the origin of the material to be tested;
- The sample submitted for testing is tracked through the radio frequency-based inventory tracking system; and
- If the sample submitted for testing is a sample of a product to be used in the manufacture of an industrial hemp product, the manufacturer of the product possesses a CDPHE registration.
The agencies’ bulletin indicates the first stakeholder meeting to discuss these proposed changes is scheduled for Monday, October 1, 2018, from 9.30am to 12.30pm, at the Colorado Department of Agriculture, 305 Interlocken Parkway, Broomfield, CO 80021. Please contact McAllister Garfield should you have any questions about how these proposed changes will apply to your business, or if you would like the firm to represent your interests at stakeholder meetings on the issue.
Sincerely,
Garrett L. Davey, Esq.