DHSS rule draft highlights

DHSS rule draft highlights

By Brandon Dunn

With a weekend to comb through and evaluate the updated rule drafts published on Friday evening, here are the highlights to pay close attention to going forward.

   
  • (9) “Dried, unprocessed marijuana or its equivalent” means the marijuana flower after it has been cured and trimmed or its equivalent amount of marijuana concentrate or THC. For purposes of purchase and possession limitations, one (1) ounce of dried, unprocessed marijuana is equivalent to eight (8) grams of medical marijuana concentrate or eight hundred (800) milligrams of THC in infused products.
  • (12) “Enclosed, locked facility” means: (A) An indoor stationary closet, room, or other comparable space equipped with locks or other functioning security devices that permit access to only the qualifying patients or primary caregivers who have informed the department that this is the space where they will cultivate marijuana; or (B) An outdoor stationary structure: 1. That is enclosed on all sides, except at the base, by chain-link fencing, wooden slats, or a similar material that is anchored, attached, or affixed to the ground and that cannot be accessed from the top; 2. In which the plants are not visible to the unaided eye from an adjacent property when viewed by an individual at ground level or from a permanent structure at any level; and 3. That is equipped with locks or other security devices that restrict access to only the qualifying patients or primary caregivers who have informed the department that this is the space where they will cultivate marijuana.
  • (38) “Substantially common control, ownership, or management” means a relationship between two (2) or more applicants or licensees in which a single entity or entities: (A) Owns at least fifteen (15) percent of or manages the licensed business or proposed licensed business; (B) Owns at least fifteen (15) percent of or manages the assets necessary to conduct the licensed business or proposed licensed business; (C) Controls through security or lease arrangements the assets necessary to conduct the licensed business or proposed licensed business; or (D) Directs the internal affairs or conduct of the licensed business or proposed licensed business.
  • (C) No more than three (3) cultivation or three (3) manufacturing licenses and no more than five (5) dispensary licenses shall be issued to any entity under substantially common control, ownership, or management.
  • (D) All marijuana for medical use, including plants, flowers, and infused products, sold in Missouri shall be cultivated in a licensed cultivation facility located in Missouri. After December 31, 2020, marijuana for medical use shall be grown from seeds or plants obtained from a Missouri licensed cultivation or dispensary facility.
  • Applicable to all medical marijuana facilities less Testing Facilities – (IV) A method for storing recordings from the video cameras for at sixty (60) days in a secure on-site or off-site location or through a service or network that provides on-demand access to the recordings and that allows for providing copies of the recordings to the department upon request and at the expense of the facility;
  • (C) Facilities, except those in rural, unincorporated agricultural areas, must develop, implement, and maintain an odor control plan, which shall address odor mitigation practices including, but not limited to, engineering controls, such as system design and operational processes, which shall be reviewed and certified by a professional engineer or a certified industrial hygienist as sufficient to effectively mitigate odors for all odor sources.
  • Specific only to Testing Facilities – D. A method for storing recordings from the video cameras for at least six (6) months in a secure on-site or off-site location or through a service or network that provides on-demand access to the recordings and that allows for providing copies of the recordings to the department upon request and at the expense of the facility;
  • (N) Dispensary facilities may not disburse medical marijuana as part of a promotional event. If a facility disburses medical marijuana free of charge for any other reason, the facility shall record that disbursement of product in its seed-to-sale system with all relevant entries, including the qualifying patient or primary caregiver information and the amount of medical marijuana disbursed to that qualifying patient or primary caregiver.
  • (O) Dispensary facilities may not allow consumption of medical marijuana on their licensed premises
  • 1. All vehicles used to transport medical marijuana shall not be marked in any way that indicates medical marijuana is being transported by that vehicle and shall be equipped with at least: A. A secure lockbox or locking cargo area made of smooth, hard surfaces that are easily cleaned for storing medical marijuana during transit; B. A secure lockbox for storing payments and video monitoring recording equipment during transit; C. Video monitoring of the driver and passenger compartment in the vehicle and of any space where medical marijuana is stored during transit; and D. GPS tracking;
  • (B) One (1) qualifying patient may cultivate up to six (6) flowering marijuana plants, six (6) nonflowering marijuana plants (over fourteen (14) inches tall), and six (6) clones (plants under fourteen (14) inches tall) at any given time in a single, enclosed locked facility. Two (2) qualifying patients, who both hold valid qualifying patient cultivation identification cards, may share one (1) enclosed, locked facility. No more than twelve (12) flowering marijuana plants, twelve (12) nonflowering plants, and twelve (12) clones may be cultivated in a single, enclosed locked facility, except when one (1) of the qualifying patients, as a primary caregiver, also holds a patient cultivation identification card for a third qualifying patient, in which case that primary caregiver may cultivate six (6) additional flowering marijuana plants, six (6) additional nonflowering marijuana plants, and six (6) additional clones for a total of eighteen (18) flowering marijuana plants, eighteen (18) nonflowering marijuana plants, and eighteen (18) clones in a single, enclosed locked facility.
  • In the case of dry, unprocessed marijuana, the maximum amount of marijuana from which a sample may be selected is fifteen (15) pounds, and a minimum of zero point five (0.5) percent of a harvest lot will be sampled for testing.
  • In the case of concentrates and extracts, the amount of material required for sampling is:
  • In the case of all other infused products, the amount of material required for sampling is:

The public comment period for the rules is open until May 15 with final rules set to be released on June 4. Each set of draft rules has changes, but there is a trend of the rules becoming more and more specific with each draft.