Md. Code Regs. 15.01.17.02

Current through Register Vol. 52, No. 1, January 10, 2025

Section 15.01.17.02 - Definitions

A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

B. Terms Defined.

(1) "Acceptable hemp THC level" means the application of the measurement uncertainty to the reported total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis producing a distribution or range that includes 0.3 percent or less total THC.

(2) "Applicant" means a person, or for a business entity, a person authorized to act on behalf of the business entity, who applies to the Department to become a licensed hemp grower in the State.

(3) "Authorized agent" means a sampling agent who has received a certificate of completion of training from USDA or the Department and has been approved by the Department to sample hemp under the Program.

(4) "Authorized laboratory" means a laboratory that is:

(a) DEA registered; or

(b) Accredited to ISO17025:2017.

(5) Cannabis.

(a) "Cannabis" means a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae of which Cannabis sativa is a species, and Cannabis indicia and Cannabis ruderalis are subspecies thereof

(b) "Cannabis" includes any form of the plant in which the delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration on a dry weight basis has not yet been determined

(6) "CBD" means cannabidiol.

(7) "Conviction" means any plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or any finding of guilt, except when the finding of guilt is subsequently overturned on appeal, pardoned, or expunged

(8) "Culpable mental state greater than negligence" means to act intentionally, knowingly, willfully or recklessly

(9) "Cultivate" means to plant, water, grow, or harvest a plant or crop.

(10) "DEA" means the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

(11) "Decarboxylated" means the completion of the chemical reaction that converts THC-A into delta-9-THC, the intoxicating component of cannabis. The decarboxylated value may also be calculated using a conversion formula that sums delta-9-THC and THC-A.

(12) "Decarboxylation" means the removal or elimination of a carboxyl group from a molecule or organic compound

(13) "Delta-9-THC or THC" means delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration, the primary intoxicating component of cannabis.

(14) "Department" means the Maryland Department of Agriculture.

(15) "Disposal or destruction" means the procedure to render a plant or a product derived from such plant unusable by burning incorporating with other materials, or other methods approved by the Department consistent with USDA guidelines.

(16) "Dry weight basis" means the ratio of the amount of dry solid in a sample after drying to the total mass of the sample before drying, including the moisture in a sample.

(17) "GPS" means Global Positioning System.

(18) "Growing area" means either an outdoor or an enclosed indoor area where hemp is cultivated

(19) "Hemp" means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a total delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.

(20) "Hemp greens" means hemp leaves from immature plants that are no more than 10 inches tall and are not flowering.

(21) "Hemp microgreens" means immature hemp seedlings for human consumption that are:

(a) Cut off above the soil or substrate line and harvested before flowering and not more than 14 days after germination; and

(b) Typically, between 2 and 3 inches in height, but not taller than 5 inches.

(22) "Hemp transplants" means nonflowering hemp seedlings, rooted cuttings, immature plants produced from tissue culture, or other means of reproduction, which are not harvested but transplanted into a large container or field to mature for harvest.

(23) Key Participant.

(a) "Key participant" means a sole proprietor, a partner in partnership, or a person with executive managerial control in a corporation, such as a chief executive officer or chief operating officer

(b) "Key participant" does not include a nonexecutive manager, such as a farm, field or shift manager

(24) "Law enforcement agency" means the Maryland State Police, DEA, or other federal state, or local law enforcement agency or drug suppression unit

(25) "License" means written authorization by the Department permitting a person to cultivate, store, handle, or market hemp in the State.

(26) Licensed Area.

(a) "Licensed area" means the land area shown in an approved licensing application, or, subsequently, in an approved site modification plan, on which a hemp grower plans to cultivate, store, or handle hemp.

(b) "Licensed area" includes growing areas, storage facilities, and other areas that are to be used in the grower's hemp operation.

(27) "Licensed grower" means a person possessing a license issued by the Department under the authority of this chapter to cultivate, store, handle, or market hemp.

(28) "Lot" means a contiguous area in a field, greenhouse, or indoor facility growing the same variety or strain of hemp that was planted at the same time throughout this area.

(29) "Map" means a diagram depicting all borders of the hemp operation, including the nearest roads to aid in orientation, the cardinal direction north, and the boundaries of the legally described parcel on which the hemp operation is located

(30) "Measurement uncertainty" or "MU" means the parameter associated with the result of a measurement that characterizes the dispersion of the values that could be reasonably attributed to the measurement

(31) Negligent Violation.

(a) "Negligent violation" means a failure to exercise the level of care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in complying with the requirements of this chapter

(b) "Negligent violation" does not include intentional misconduct

(32) "Nonmarketable hemp" means hemp that exceeds the acceptable hemp THC level.

(33) "Official sample" means the pre-harvest hemp sample collected by the Department, in accordance with Department policy, which is used to assess the THC concentration of a single lot of hemp.

(34) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, or any business entity by whatever name designated and whether or not incorporated unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(35) "Program" means the Hemp Farming Program established under this chapter

(36) "Propagule" means a plant or plant part that can be utilized to grow a new plant

(37) "THC-A" means tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, a precursor to THC.

(38) "USDA" means the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

(39) "Variety" means a group of plants or an individual plant that exhibits a distinctive observable physical characteristic or has a distinct genetic composition.

(40) "Volunteer plant" means a hemp plant that was not intentionally planted by the person licensed to grow hemp, but results from a previous crop, growing on its own accord from seeds or roots in the years following an intentionally planted hemp crop.

Md. Code Regs. 15.01.17.02

Regulation .02 adopted effective 47:21 Md. R. 904, eff. 11/1/2020
Regulation .02 amended effective 50:9 Md. R. 375, eff. 4/16/2023; amended effective 50:15 Md. R.683, eff. 8/7/2023