Admin, Author at Dispensary Dork

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June 12, 2024

Division of Cannabis Control Proposed Rules

CSI Public Comment Period

Rule Package 5

The Division of Cannabis Control (“DCC” or “the Division”) is submitting the following proposed rules to the Common Sense Initiative and seeking public comment by Wednesday, June 26, 2024.

Comments may be emailed to DCCRules@com.ohio.gov and CSIPublicComments@governor.ohio.gov.

The Division is proposing several new rules pursuant to O.R.C. 3780; however, they will replace other rules currently in effect under O.R.C. 3796, which were specific to the regulation of the Medical Marijuana Control Program. The new rules apply to both medical and non-medical cannabis.

O.A.C. 1301:18-3-09 EMPLOYEE BADGES (New)

Establishes requirements for employees and owners of licensed cannabis facilities to obtain an employee badge via application to the Division. Requires these individuals to submit fingerprints for BCI and FBI background checks. Enrolls eligible individuals into “Rapback.”
Allows an employee to maintain one badge for each license in the family of companies, rather than a badge for each individual license.
Provides a provisional employee badge to streamline and expedite the hiring and onboarding process for new employees. An applicant for an employee badge may begin working in a licensed cannabis facility upon submission of 1) a complete and accurate application, 2) attestations that the employee does not have any offenses on their record that would disqualify them from obtaining employment, 3) evidence that the applicant has submitted fingerprints for both a BCI and FBI background check.
The licensed medical marijuana facility is responsible for conducting a thorough background evaluation to confirm the employee applicant does not have a disqualifying offense and is compliant with all program rules.
A provisional employee identification card is valid for 90 days.

O.A.C. 1301:18-2-08 CANNABIS ENTITY LICENSE RENEWALS (New)

Cultivator and Processor facility licenses must be renewed annually. A compliance inspection is required once each renewal cycle.
Testing Laboratory and Dispensary facility licenses must be renewed biannually. A compliance inspection is required once each renewal cycle.
If a licensee fails to meet all license renewal requirements by the expiration date, the Certificate of Operation is suspended for a maximum of 30 days. If the licensee fails to meet all requirements during the suspension, the Certificate of Operation is revoked, requiring the licensee to permanently cease all operations.

O.A.C. 1301:18-3-02 CHANGE OF LOCATION (New)

A licensee wishing to change facility location must receive prior approval from the Division. For a dispensary, the proposed location must be located within the same dispensary district as the existing location.

O.A.C. 1301:18-3-13 TRANSPORTATION OF CANNABIS TO ANOTHER LICENSE ENTITY (New)

All licensees must maintain transportation policies that ensure property security protocols to mitigate the risk of theft, loss, or diversion.
Only individuals with a badge certificate through the Division are permitted to transport cannabis. Individuals with a provisional badge or no badge at all are not permitted to transport cannabis.
Transportation vehicles must be free of any marks, logos, brands, or illustrations.

O.A.C. 1301:18-3-17 DISCONTINUING BUSINESS (New)

In the event a licensee seeks to permanently cease all business operations, notification must be made to the Division 90 days in advance of the closure. The licensee must wind down operations in accordance with a written closure plan submitted to the Division.

O.A.C. 1301:18-5-01 CULTIVATOR CERTIFICATE OF OPERATION (New)

This rule provides the activities in which a cultivator licensee may engage.

O.A.C. 1301:18-5-02 CULTIVATOR UNINTERRUPTED SUPPLY OF CANNABIS (New)

Cultivators must ensure a consistent supply of cannabis plant material is available for sale to consumers, which may be evidenced by not more than 120 days elapsing between harvests totaling at least 15 pounds and sale or transfer totaling at least 20 pounds for a level I cultivator and 10 pounds for a level II cultivator.
Provides a pathway to temporarily toll these timelines upon approval by the Division.

O.A.C. 1301:18-5-05 CULTIVATOR MINIMUM SECURITY AND SURVEILLANCE REQUIREMENTS (New)

Each cultivator must establish, maintain, and comply with written policies and procedures that ensure adequate security, surveillance, and control of the licensed premises that prevent diversion, theft, or loss and meet the minimum requirements outlined under this rule.

O.A.C. 1301:18-6-01 PROCESSOR CERTIFICATE OF OPERATION (New)

This rule provides the activities in which a processor licensee may engage.

O.A.C. 1301:18-6-02 PROCESSOR UNINTERRUPTED SUPPLY OF CANNABIS (New)

Processors must ensure a consistent supply of cannabis is available for sale to consumers, which may be evidenced by not more than 30 days elapsing between extracting or manufacturing at least 250 grams of extract or not more than 30 days elapsing between sale or transfer of at least one lot of cannabis products to a dispensary.
Provides a pathway to temporarily toll these timelines upon approval by the Division.

O.A.C. 1301:18-6-04 PROCESSOR MINIMUM SECURITY AND SURVEILLANCE REQUIREMENTS (New)

Each processor must establish, maintain, and comply with written policies and procedures that ensure adequate security, surveillance, and control of the licensed premises that prevent diversion, theft, or loss and meet the minimum requirements outlined under this rule.

O.A.C. 1301:18-7-01 TESTING LABORATORY CERTIFICATE OF OPERATION (New)

This rule provides the activities in which a testing laboratory licensee may engage.

O.A.C. 1301:18-8-07 DISPENSARY PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY (New)

Requires each dispensary to ensure confidentiality of all records related to medical marijuana patient transactions, and specifies the circumstances under which patient records may be released.

O.A.C. 1301:18-9-01 CANNABIS FACILITY INSPECTIONS (New)

Outlines the Division’s authority to conduct inspections with or without notice provided to the licensee.
Allows the Division to conduct inspections with other state agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture or State Fire Marshal, or local authorities.
Requires inspections to be conducted prior to the issuance or renewal of a Certificate of Operation.

O.A.C. 1301:18-9-06 VARIANCES (New)

Allows the Division to grant variances to rules if the requirement is not statutorily mandated, the variance is within the public interest, individuals will not be injured by the proposed variance, and the provision in the specific case is unreasonable or unnecessarily burdensome.

O.A.C. 1301:18-10-01 PROCEDURE FOR PATIENT REGISTRATION (New)

Specifies the steps and information required for a medical marijuana patient to obtain or renew their patient registration, including information required to be submitted to the Medical Marijuana Patient & Caregiver Registry by the physician and the patient.

O.A.C. 1301:18-10-02 PROCEDURE FOR CAREGIVER REGISTRATION (New)

Specifies the steps and information required for a caregiver of a medical marijuana patient to obtain or renew their caregiver registration, including information required to be submitted to the Medical Marijuana Patient & Caregiver Registry by the patient’s physician and the caregiver.

O.A.C. 1301:18-10-04 PATIENT AND CAREGIVER NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS (New)

Outlines scenarios in which a patient or caregiver must report information to the Division, including any changes to information outlined in their Registry profile or if their card has been used fraudulently. Patients must also notify the Division if their doctor has determined that they no longer have a condition qualifying them for the use of medical marijuana.

O.A.C. 1301:18-10-06 PATIENT AND CAREGIVER ENFORCEMENT (New)

Allows the Division to impose sanctions on patients or caregivers who violate program rules.

O.A.C. 1301:18-10-07 PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY AT ADJUDICATION HEARINGS (New)

Adjudication hearings related to patient registration are closed to the public, and documents that contain patient-identifying information are confidential.

O.A.C. 1301:18-10-08 RELEASE OF PATIENT INFORMATION (New)

Patient records are confidential and generally not subject to disclosure, except in limited circumstances.

O.A.C. 1301:18-10-09 SUSPENSION OF ACCESS TO PATIENT INFORMATION (New)

Allows the Division to suspend access to the Medical Marijuana Patient & Caregiver Registry if the individual has violated confidentiality or other requirements.

The Business Impact Analysis and full text of the proposed rules can be found here.

Stakeholders may submit comments to DCCRules@com.ohio.gov and CSIPublicComments@governor.ohio.gov by 5:00pm on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.

The Division will review and consider the comments received prior to submitting the proposed rules to the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Ohio Revised Code.

Proposed Rules for Early Stakeholder Feedback

Rule Package 6

The Division of Cannabis Control (“DCC” or “the Division”) seeks initial stakeholder feedback on proposed rules related to:

Advertising
Fees
Forms & Methods of Administration
THC Content, Portions, and Units
Cultivator Operations
Processor Operations
Employee Training

The full text of the proposed rules can be found here. Stakeholders may submit comments to DCCRules@com.ohio.gov by Wednesday, June 26, 2024.

The Division will review and consider the comments received prior to submitting the proposed rules to the Common Sense Initiative and the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Ohio Revised Code. Both of those processes will provide stakeholders further opportunity to comment on the proposed rules.