SB 566 Summary

• Establishes the California Industrial Hemp Farming Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana under state law, defining industrial hemp as Cannabis sativa L. with no more than 0.3% THC in dried flowering tops, cultivated exclusively for fiber, oil, seed, or stalks.

• Requires industrial hemp growers and seed breeders to register with county agricultural commissioners every two years and pay registration fees, with minimum acreage requirements of five acres for commercial growers and two acres for seed breeders, excluding established agricultural research institutions.

• Mandates laboratory testing of crops before harvest by federally registered Drug Enforcement Administration laboratories to verify THC content does not exceed 0.3%, with destruction required for crops exceeding the limit and prohibition on possession of resin, flowering tops, or leaves outside cultivation fields.

• Creates an 11-member Industrial Hemp Advisory Board to advise the Secretary of Food and Agriculture on seed cultivar approvals, enforcement, and regulations, with representation from growers, research institutions, law enforcement, processors, and the public.

• Requires the Attorney General and Industrial Hemp Advisory Board to report to the Legislature by January 1, 2019 on economic and law enforcement impacts, and makes the entire act operative only upon authorization under federal law.