Senate Bill 1420 Summary

• Establishes medical marijuana as an agricultural commodity regulated by the Arizona Department of Agriculture beginning June 1, 2019, subject to departmental rules and independent third-party laboratory testing.

• Requires nonprofit medical marijuana dispensaries to implement sanitary storage and processing conditions, undergo inspections for mold, and use childproof containers with disclosure documents listing all chemicals used during cultivation.

• Mandates random sampling and testing of medical marijuana sold by dispensaries to confirm absence of mold, pathogenic bacteria, and other harmful adulterants, with destruction of incorrectly labeled or inaccurate products.

• Appropriates $2,000,000 from the medical marijuana fund to the Department of Agriculture in fiscal year 2018-2019 for regulating marijuana as an agricultural commodity.

• Grants the Department of Agriculture one-year exemption from standard rulemaking requirements under Arizona Revised Statutes title 41, chapter 6 to implement these provisions.