Virginia Code 3.2-4118: Forfeiture of industrial hemp grower, handler, or processor registration; violations.
A. The Commissioner shall deny the application, or suspend or revoke the registration, of any person who, with a culpable mental state greater than negligence, violates any provision of this article. The Commissioner shall provide reasonable notice of an informal fact-finding conference pursuant to § 2.2-4019 to any person in connection with the denial, suspension, or revocation of a registration.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 3.2-4118
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Cannabis sativa product: means a product made from any part of the plant Cannabis sativa with a concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol that is greater than that allowed by federal law. See Virginia Code 3.2-4112
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-100
- Grow: means to plant, cultivate, or harvest a plant or crop. See Virginia Code 3.2-4112
- Grower: means any person registered pursuant to subsection A of § Virginia Code 3.2-4112
- Handle: means to temporarily possess industrial hemp grown in compliance with state or federal law that (i) has not been processed and (ii) was not grown by and will not be processed by the person temporarily possessing it. See Virginia Code 3.2-4112
- Handler: means any person who is registered pursuant to subsection A of § Virginia Code 3.2-4112
- Industrial hemp: includes an industrial hemp extract that has not completed all stages of processing needed to convert the extract into a hemp product. See Virginia Code 3.2-4112
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- Process: means to convert industrial hemp into a hemp product. See Virginia Code 3.2-4112
- Process site: means the location at which a processor processes or intends to process industrial hemp. See Virginia Code 3.2-4112
- Processor: means a person registered pursuant to subsection A of § Virginia Code 3.2-4112
- Production field: means the land or area on which a grower or a federally licensed hemp producer is growing or intends to grow industrial hemp. See Virginia Code 3.2-4112
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
- Tetrahydrocannabinol: means any naturally occurring or synthetic tetrahydrocannabinol, including its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers whenever the existence of such salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical designation and any preparation, mixture, or substance containing, or mixed or infused with, any detectable amount of tetrahydrocannabinol. See Virginia Code 3.2-4112
- Total tetrahydrocannabinol: means the sum, after the application of any necessary conversion factor, of the percentage by weight of tetrahydrocannabinol and the percentage by weight of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid. See Virginia Code 3.2-4112
B. If a registration is revoked as the result of an informal hearing, the decision may be appealed, and upon appeal an administrative hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.). The grower, handler, or processor may appeal a final order to the circuit court in accordance with the Administrative Process Act.
C. A person issued a registration pursuant to § 3.2-4115 who negligently (i) fails to provide a description and geographic data sufficient for locating his production field, handler’s storage site, or process site; (ii) grows, handles, or processes Cannabis sativa with a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration greater than that allowed by federal law; or (iii) produces a Cannabis sativa product shall comply with any corrective action plan established by the Commissioner in accordance with the provisions of subsection E. The Commissioner shall not deem a grower negligent if such grower makes reasonable efforts to grow industrial hemp and grows Cannabis sativa with a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed the total tetrahydrocannabinol concentration percentage established in federal regulations applicable to negligent violations located at 7 C.F.R. § 990.6(b)(3).
D. A person who grows, handles, or processes industrial hemp and who negligently fails to register pursuant to § 3.2-4115 shall comply with any corrective action plan established by the Commissioner in accordance with the provisions of subsection E.
E. A corrective action plan established by the Commissioner in response to a negligent violation of a provision of this article shall identify a reasonable date by which the person who is the subject of the plan shall correct the negligent violation and shall require such person to report periodically for not less than two calendar years to the Commissioner on the person’s compliance with the provisions of this article.
F. No person who negligently violates the provisions of this article three times in a five-year period shall be eligible to grow, handle, or process industrial hemp for a period of five years beginning on the date of the third violation.
2015, cc. 158, 180; 2018, cc. 689, 690; 2019, cc. 653, 654; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 110; 2023, cc. 744, 794.