Colorado department of agriculture
Plant Industry Division
Rules Pertaining to the Administration and Enforcement of the Industrial Hemp Regulatory Program Act
8 CCR 1203-23
Pursuant to the provisions and requirements of the Industrial Hemp Regulatory Program Act, Title 35, Article 61, C.R.S., the following Rules are hereby promulgated to regulate the cultivation of Industrial Hemp:
Part 1	DEFINITIONS
1.1	“Act” means the Industrial Hemp Regulatory Program Act, Title 35, Article 61, C.R.S.
1.2	“CDA Approved Certified Seed” means Cannabis seed that is approved and labeled by the Department for cultivating Industrial Hemp.
1.3	“Commercial” means the growth of Industrial Hemp, for any purpose including engaging in commerce, market development and market research, by any person or legal entity other than an institution of higher education or under a the pilot program administered by the Department for purposes of agricultural or academic research in the development of growing Industrial Hemp.
1.4	“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Agriculture and any employee of the Department of Agriculture associated with the Industrial Hemp Regulatory Program.
1.5	“Department” means the Colorado Department of Agriculture.
1.6	“Harvest” means the termination of the cultivation process, including taking cuttings, or the movement of Industrial Hemp from a Registered Land Area to another location or movement within a Registered Land Area between indoor and outdoor planting areas.
1.7	“Industrial Hemp” means a plant of the genus Cannabis and any part of the plant, whether growing or not, containing a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of no more than three-tenths of one percent (0.3%) on a dry weight basis.
1.8	“Law Enforcement” means the activities of the federal, state and local agencies responsible for maintaining public order and enforcing the law.
1.9	“Registrant” means any individual or legal entity who holds a valid Registration to grow Industrial Hemp under these Rules.
1.10	“Registration” means authorization by the Commissioner for any individual or legal entity to grow Industrial Hemp on a Registered Land Area. 
1.11	“Registered Land Area” means a contiguous land area registered with the Department on which a Registrant plans to cultivate Industrial Hemp. A Registered Land Area may include land and buildings that are not used for cultivation.
1.12	“Research and Development” means cultivation of Industrial Hemp either by an institution of higher education or under a the pilot program administered by the Department for purposes of agricultural or academic research in the development of growing Industrial Hemp.
1.13	“Variety” means a group of plants or an individual plant that exhibits distinctive observable physical characteristic(s) or has a distinct genetic composition. 
Part 4	INSPECTION AND SAMPLING PROGRAM
4.1	All Registrations are subject to routine inspection and sampling to verify that the delta-9 THC concentration of the Cannabis planted within a Registered Land Area does not exceed 0.3% on dry weight basis. The Commissioner may select up to 100% of the Registrants to be inspected. The Commissioner shall send notification to each Registrant of their selection. The notification shall inform the Registrant of the scope and process by which the inspection will be conducted and require the Registrant to contact the Department within 10 days to set a date and time for the inspection to occur. Failure to contact the Department as required will result in the initiation of disciplinary proceedings pursuant to Part 6 of these Rules against the Registration. 
4.2	In addition to any routine inspection and sampling under Rule 4.1, the Commissioner may inspect and take samples from any Registered Land Area during normal business hours without advance notice if he has reason to believe a violation of the Act or these Rules may be occurring or has occurred. The Commissioner may also conduct such additional inspection and sampling to verify compliance with the reporting requirements of these Rules. 
4.3	 A Registered Land Area may be subject to inspection and sampling prior to voluntary termination of the Registration before its expiration date. 
4.4	During the inspection, the Registrant or authorized representative shall be present at the growing operation. The Registrant or authorized representative shall provide the Department’s Inspector with complete and unrestricted access to all Cannabis plants, parts and seeds within a Registered Land Area whether growing or harvested, and all land, buildings and other structures used for the cultivation and storage of Industrial Hemp, and all documents and records pertaining to the Registrant’s Industrial Hemp growing business. 
4.5	All Cannabis plants within a Registered Land Area may be sampled to ensure compliance with the Industrial Hemp Program.
4.5.1	Individual or composite samples of each variety of Cannabis may be sampled from the Registered Land Area at the Department’s discretion.
4.5.2	The sampled material will be prepared for testing using protocols approved by the Commissioner. 
4.5.3	Quantitative laboratory determination of the delta-9 THC concentration on a dry weight basis will be performed according to protocols approved by the Commissioner. 
4.5.4	A sample test result with a delta-9 concentration on a dry weight basis greater than 0.3% THC shall constitute evidence that at least one Cannabis plant or part of a plant in the Registered Land Area contains a delta-9 THC concentration on a dry weight basis of more than 0.3% and that the Registrant of that Registered Land Area is therefore not in compliance with the Act. Upon receipt of such a test result, the Commissioner may summarily suspend or revoke the Registration of an Industrial Hemp Registrant in accordance with the Act, these Rules and 24-4-104, C.R.S. Sample test results for Industrial Hemp Registrations with a delta-9 THC concentration greater than 0.3% on a dry weight basis may be provided to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
4.6	Fields planted with CDA Approved Certified Seed may be inspected and sampled to confirm consistency with the Planting Report(s). The Department will waive all inspection and/or sampling costs if no inconsistencies or violations are identified. 
4.7	Fees
4.7.1	Registrants selected for inspection and sampling shall pay a charge of $35 dollars per hour per inspector for actual drive time, mileage, inspection and sampling time. 
4.7.2	Registrants selected for inspection and sampling shall reimburse the Department for all laboratory costs incurred by the Department within 30 days of the date of invoice. 
Part 7	CDA APPROVED CERTIFIED SEED
7.1	A variety of Industrial Hemp may be approved by the Department as CDA Approved Certified Seed if it is tested by the Department and confirmed to produce mature plants with a delta-9 THC concentration of no more than 0.3% on a dry weight basis in approved multiple geographic trials in Colorado. 
7.1.1	The genetics of the plant material must be accepted by the Colorado Seed Growers Association (“CSGA”) variety review board or the variety review board of the Association Of Seed Certifying Agencies (“AOSCA”).
7.1.2	The variety must fit the description on the application form as submitted to the CSGA or AOSCA variety review board.
7.1.3	The seed must be produced and certified in accordance with the certification requirements of a CDA approved seed certifying agency. 
7.1.4	The seed must be labeled with a CDA Approved Certified Seed tag. 
7.2	In addition to the Registration fees required by Rules 2.8 and 2.9, all Registrants shall pay to the Department an additional fee established by the Committee, for the purpose of funding the costs of administering the CDA Approved Seed Certification program.
7.3	An applicant that submits a variety for approval under the CDA Approved Seed Certification program shall pay the testing costs incurred by the Department and submit such other information as required on a form provided by the Commissioner. 
Part 9	STATEMENTS OF BASIS, SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORITY AND PURPOSE
9.7.	Adopted February 22, 2018 – Effective April 15, 2018
Statutory Authority
These Rules are proposed for adoption by the Commissioner of the Colorado Department of Agriculture (“CDA”) pursuant to his authority under the Industrial Hemp Regulatory Program Act (the “act”), Section 35-61-104(5), C.R.S. 
Purpose
1.	Amend and clarify the definitions of “commercial” and “research and development”. 
2.	Amend the definition of “harvest” to add the common language used to define the term “harvest” to include the practice of taking cuttings. 
3.	The changes to Rule 4.7.2 are necessary to recapture language that was inadvertently deleted during the last rulemaking.
4.	Amend Rule 7.3 to require reporting on a form provided by the Commissioner in order for the Department to capture additional information as deemed necessary by the certified seed program.
Factual and policy basis
1.	Make Grammatical and non-substantive changes for clarity to the definitions of commercial and research and development To clarify the language in 1.3 and 1.12 and make it consistent with the implementation of the program.
2.	The definition of “harvest” was amended to clarify that this term includes the normal and common practice of harvesting cuttings.
3.	Add language that was intended to be included in Rule 4.7.2 and was inadvertently deleted during the last rulemaking. 
4.	The amendment to Rule 7.3 allows the Department to track varietal identity entering into the certified seed program.