Chapter 928 | Hemp and Hemp Products

Section 928.01 | Definitions.

• Effective: July 30, 2019
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 57 - 133rd General Assembly

As used in this chapter:

(A) "Cannabidiol" means the cannabidiol compound, containing a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than three-tenths per cent, derived from hemp.

(B) "Cultivate" or "cultivating" means to plant, water, grow, fertilize, till, or harvest a plant or crop. "Cultivating" includes possessing or storing a plant or crop on a premises where the plant or crop was cultivated until transported to the first point of sale.

(C) "Hemp" means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than three-tenths per cent on a dry weight basis.

(D) "Hemp cultivation license" means a license to cultivate hemp issued under section 928.02 of the Revised Code.

(E) "Hemp processing license" means a license to process hemp issued under section 928.02 of the Revised Code.

(F) "Hemp product" means any product, containing a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than three-tenths per cent, that is made with hemp. "Hemp product" includes cosmetics, personal care products, dietary supplements or food intended for animal or human consumption, cloth, cordage, fiber, fuel, paint, paper, particleboard, and any other product containing one or more cannabinoids derived from hemp, including cannabidiol.

(G) "Marihuana" has the same meaning as in section 3719.01 of the Revised Code.

(H) "Medical marijuana" has the same meaning as in section 3796.01 of the Revised Code.

(I) "Process" or "processing" means converting hemp into a hemp product.

(J) "Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol" means the sum of the percentage by weight of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid multiplied by 0.877 plus the percentage by weight of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol.

(K) "University" means an institution of higher education as defined in section 3345.12 of the Revised Code and a private nonprofit institution with a certificate of authorization issued pursuant to Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code.

(L) "USDA" means the United States department of agriculture.

Section 928.02 | Regulation and monitoring of hemp cultivation; licensing.

• Effective: December 29, 2023
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 131 - 134th General Assembly

(A)(1) The director of agriculture shall establish a program to monitor and regulate hemp cultivation and processing in this state. Under the program, the director shall issue hemp cultivation licenses and hemp processing licenses in accordance with rules adopted under section 928.03 of the Revised Code.

(2) As authorized by the director, the department of agriculture or a university may cultivate or process hemp without a hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license for research purposes.

(B) Except as authorized under division (A)(2) or (E) of this section, any person that wishes to cultivate hemp shall apply for and obtain a hemp cultivation license from the director in accordance with rules adopted under section 928.03 of the Revised Code. Except as authorized under division (A)(2) or (E) of this section, any person that wishes to process hemp shall apply for and obtain a hemp processing license from the director in accordance with those rules. Such licenses are valid for three years unless earlier suspended or revoked by the director.

(C) The department, a university, or any person may, without a hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license, possess, buy, or sell hemp or a hemp product.

(D) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code to the contrary, the addition of hemp or a hemp product to any other product does not adulterate that other product.

(E) The director shall issue a hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license in accordance with Chapter 4796. of the Revised Code to an individual if either of the following applies:

(1) The individual holds the applicable license in another state.

(2) The individual has satisfactory work experience, a government certification, or a private certification as described in that chapter as a hemp cultivator or hemp processor in a state that does not issue the applicable license.

Last updated December 29, 2023 at 7:28 AM

Section 928.03 | Rules.

• Effective: July 30, 2019
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 57 - 133rd General Assembly

The director of agriculture, in consultation with the governor and attorney general, shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing standards and procedures for the regulation of hemp cultivation and processing. The rules shall include all of the following:

(A) The form of an application for a hemp cultivation license and hemp processing license and the information required to be included in each license application;

(B) The amount of an initial application fee that an applicant shall submit along with an application for a hemp cultivation license or a hemp processing license, and the amount of an annual license fee that a licensee shall submit for a hemp cultivation license or a hemp processing license. In adopting rules under division (B) of this section, the director shall ensure both of the following:

(1) That the amount of the application fee and annual license fee does not exceed an amount sufficient to cover the costs incurred by the department of agriculture to administer and enforce this chapter;

(2) That there is one uniform application fee and one uniform annual license fee that applies to all applicants for a hemp cultivation license.

(C) Requirements and procedures concerning background investigations of each applicant for a hemp cultivation license and each applicant for a hemp processing license. The director shall include both of the following in the rules adopted under this division:

(1) A requirement that each applicant comply with sections 4776.01 to 4776.04 of the Revised Code;

(2) Provisions that prohibit the director from issuing a hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license to an applicant that has not complied with those sections.

(D) Requirements regarding the experience, equipment, facilities, or land necessary to obtain a hemp cultivation license;

(E) Requirements and procedures regarding standards of financial responsibility for each applicant for a hemp processing license.

(F) Procedures and requirements for the issuance, renewal, denial, suspension, and revocation of a hemp cultivation license and hemp processing license, including providing for a hearing under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code with regard to such a denial, suspension, or revocation;

(G) Grounds for the denial, suspension, and revocation of a hemp cultivation license and of a hemp processing license, including a requirement that the director revoke a hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license, for a period of ten years, of any person who pleads guilty to or is convicted of a felony relating to a controlled substance;

(H) A requirement that the director shall not issue a hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license to any person who has pleaded guilty to or been convicted of a felony relating to a controlled substance in the ten years immediately prior to the submission of the application for a license;

(I) A requirement that any person that materially falsifies information in an application for a hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license is ineligible to receive either license;

(J) A practice for maintaining relevant information regarding land on which hemp is cultivated by hemp cultivation licensees, including a legal description of the land, in accordance with applicable federal law;

(K) Requirements prohibiting a hemp cultivation licensee and a hemp processing licensee from cultivating or processing marihuana;

(L) A procedure for testing, using post-decarboxylation or other similarly reliable methods, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration levels of plants and products for purposes of determining compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it;

(M) Requirements and procedures for the issuance, administration, and enforcement of corrective action plans issued under this chapter;

(N) A procedure for conducting annual inspections of, at a minimum, a random sample of hemp cultivation license holders to verify that plants are not being cultivated in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under it;

(O) A procedure for conducting annual inspections of, at a minimum, a random sample of hemp processing license holders to verify that such license holders are not operating in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under it;

(P) A procedure for complying with enforcement procedures required under federal law;

(Q) A procedure for the effective disposal of all of the following:

(1) Plants, whether growing or not, cultivated in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under it;

(2) Products derived from plants cultivated in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under it;

(3) Products produced in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under it.

(R) Requirements and procedures governing the production, storage, and disposal of hemp byproducts.

For the purposes of this chapter and notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, "hemp product" includes a byproduct, produced as a result of processing hemp, that contains a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of more than three-tenths per cent, provided that the byproduct is produced, stored, and disposed of in accordance with rules adopted under division (R) of this section.

(S) Procedures for sharing information regarding hemp cultivation license holders with the secretary of the USDA;

(T) A setback distance requirement that specifies the distance that a hemp cultivation license holder shall locate hemp plants from a location where medical marijuana is being cultivated. The requirement does not apply to a hemp cultivation license holder with regard to a medical marijuana cultivator that locates medical marijuana within the established setback distance requirement after the hemp cultivation license holder begins operation.

(U) Annual reporting requirements and procedures for hemp cultivation license holders and hemp processing license holders;

(V) Recordkeeping and documentation maintenance requirements and procedures for hemp cultivation license holders and hemp processing license holders;

(W) Fees for the laboratory testing of plants and products;

(X) Standards for the testing and labeling of hemp and hemp products;

(Y) Requirements prohibiting the processing of hemp in a building used as a personal residence or on land that is zoned for residential use;

(Z) Production standards and manufacturing practices for processing hemp;

(AA) Procedures and requirements for the transportation and storage of both hemp and hemp products;

(BB) Any other requirements or procedures necessary to administer and enforce this chapter.

Last updated November 16, 2023 at 10:39 AM

Section 928.04 | Licenses required; compliance.

• Effective: July 30, 2019
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 57 - 133rd General Assembly

(A) Except as authorized under division (A) (2) of section 928.02 of the Revised Code, no person shall cultivate hemp without a hemp cultivation license or process hemp without a hemp processing license issued by the director of agriculture under this chapter.

(B) No person who holds a hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license shall violate this chapter or rules adopted under it.

(C) No person subject to a corrective action plan issued by the director of agriculture under section 928.05 of the Revised Code shall fail to comply with the plan.

(D) No person shall transport hemp or a hemp product in violation of rules adopted under section 928.03 of the Revised Code.

Section 928.05 | Corrective action plans.

• Effective: July 30, 2019
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 57 - 133rd General Assembly

(A) The director of agriculture shall issue a corrective action plan to any person that the director determines has negligently violated section 928.04 of the Revised Code. The director shall include in the corrective action plan both of the following:

(1) A reasonable date by which the person shall correct the violation;

(2) A requirement that the person report to the director regarding the person's compliance with the requirements of this chapter, rules adopted under it, and the corrective action plan for two calendar years immediately following the date of the violation.

(B) If the director determines that a person negligently violated section 928.04 of the Revised Code three or more times in any five-year period, the director shall revoke the person's hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license, if any, and shall refuse to issue a hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license to that person for a period of five years beginning on the date that the director determines that the person committed the most recent violation.

(C) The director shall report a person who the director determines has violated section 928.04 of the Revised Code with a culpable mental state greater than negligence to the attorney general, the United States attorney general, and the applicable county prosecutor.

Section 928.06 | Hemp program fund.

• Effective: July 30, 2019
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 57 - 133rd General Assembly

There is hereby created in the state treasury the hemp program fund. The fund shall consist of all fees collected under rules adopted under section 928.03 of the Revised Code; money appropriated to the fund; and any other money received from gifts or federal grants. All investment earnings of the fund shall be credited to the fund. The director of agriculture shall use money in the fund to administer and enforce this chapter and rules adopted under it.

Section 928.07 | Authority of director to enter property; application for warrant; emergency conditions; injunction.

• Effective: July 30, 2019
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 57 - 133rd General Assembly

(A) The director of agriculture may enter at reasonable times upon any public or private property at which hemp is being cultivated or processed for the purpose of determining compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it. The director may apply for and any judge of an appropriate court of record may issue a search warrant, necessary to achieve the purposes of this chapter within the court's territorial jurisdiction.

(B) (1) If the director determines that emergency conditions exist requiring immediate action necessary to protect public health or safety or the environment, the director may issue an order stating the existence of such conditions and requiring specific actions be taken to mitigate those conditions without providing prior notice or an adjudication hearing in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

(2) Any person to whom such an order is issued shall immediately comply with that order, and may apply to the director for an adjudication hearing. Upon receiving an application for an adjudication hearing, the director shall hold the hearing as soon as practicable and not later than thirty days after receipt of the application. On the basis of the hearing, the director shall continue the order in effect, revoke it, or modify it.

(C) In addition to any other available remedies, the director of agriculture, the attorney general, or a county prosecutor may apply to a court of common pleas in the county where any provision of section 928.04 of the Revised Code or an order issued under division (B) of this section is being violated for an injunction restraining any person from continuing the violation.

Section 928.99 | Violations; penalties.

• Effective: July 30, 2019
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 57 - 133rd General Assembly

(A) Whoever recklessly violates section 928.04 of the Revised Code is guilty of the following:

(1) For a first offense, a minor misdemeanor ;

(2) For each subsequent offense, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

The court shall order an offender who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a third or subsequent offense ineligible to receive a hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license under this chapter. The court shall provide written notice of that order to the director of agriculture. Upon receipt of the notice, the director shall revoke any hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license that the offender holds and shall refuse to issue a hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license to the offender beginning on the date of the court order.

(B) The prosecuting attorney of the applicable county or the attorney general may prosecute an action under this section.