3 Va. Admin. Code § 10-40-210

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 22, June 17, 2024

Section 3VAC10-40-210 - Storage and handling requirements

A. A medical cannabis facility shall:

1. Have storage areas that provide adequate lighting, ventilation, sanitation, space, equipment, and security conditions for the cultivation of cannabis and the production and dispensing of cannabis products;

2. Have storage areas with temperature and humidity maintained in the following ranges:

Room or Phase	Temperature	Humidity
Mother room	65 - 85° F	50% - 75%
Nursery phase	65 - 85° F	50% - 75%
Vegetation phase	65 - 85° F	50% - 75%
Flower/harvest phase	65 - 85° F	40% - 75%
Drying/extraction rooms	< 75° F	40% - 75%

3. Store cannabis plants, seeds, parts of plants, extracts, including cannabis products, that are outdated, damaged, deteriorated, misbranded, adulterated, or whose containers or packaging have been opened or breached, in a separate quarantined storage area until such cannabis plants, seeds, parts of plants, extracts, or cannabis products are destroyed;

4. Be maintained in a clean, sanitary, and orderly condition; and

5. Be free from infestation by insects, rodents, birds, or vermin of any kind.

B. A medical cannabis facility shall compartmentalize all areas in the facility based on function and shall restrict access between compartments.

C. The pharmaceutical processor or cannabis cultivation facility shall establish, maintain, and comply with written policies and procedures regarding best practices for the secure and proper cultivation of cannabis and production of cannabis products. These shall include policies and procedures that:

1. Restrict movement between compartments;

2. Provide for different colored identification cards for employees based on the compartment to which the employees are assigned at a given time so as to ensure that only employees necessary for a particular function have access to that compartment of the facility;

3. Require pocketless clothing for all employees working in an area containing cannabis plants, seeds, and extracts, including cannabis oil and cannabis products; and

4. Document the chain of custody of all cannabis plants, parts of plants, seeds, extracts, and cannabis products.

D. A cannabis dispensing facility shall establish, maintain, and comply with written policies and procedures regarding best practices for the secure and proper dispensing of cannabis products, including a requirement for pocketless clothing for all facility employees working in an area containing cannabis products.

E. The PIC or responsible party of a medical cannabis facility shall establish, maintain, and comply with written policies and procedures for the cultivation, production, security, storage, and inventory of cannabis, including the seeds, parts of plants, extracts, and cannabis products, as applicable. Such policies and procedures shall include methods for identifying, recording, and reporting diversion, theft, or loss and for correcting all errors and inaccuracies in inventories. Medical cannabis facilities shall include in their written policies and procedures a process for:

1. Handling mandatory and voluntary recalls of cannabis products and bulk cannabis oil, botanical cannabis, and usable cannabis distributed or received via wholesale distribution. The process shall be adequate to deal with recalls due to any action initiated at the request of the board and any voluntary action by the pharmaceutical processor or cannabis dispensing facility to (i) remove defective or potentially defective cannabis products from the market or (ii) promote public health and safety by replacing existing cannabis products with improved products or packaging;

2. Preparing for, protecting against, and handling any crises that affect the security or operation of any facility in the event of strike, fire, flood, or other natural disaster, or other situations of local, state, or national emergency;

3. Ensuring that any outdated, damaged, deteriorated, misbranded, or adulterated cannabis, including seeds, parts of plants, extracts, and cannabis products, is segregated from all other cannabis, seeds, parts of plants, extracts, and cannabis products and destroyed. This procedure shall provide for written documentation of the cannabis, including seeds, parts of plants, extracts, and cannabis product disposition; and

4. Ensuring the oldest stock of cannabis, including seeds, parts of plants, extracts, and cannabis products are used first. The procedure may permit deviation from this requirement if such deviation is temporary and appropriate.

F. The pharmaceutical processor or cannabis cultivation facility shall store all cannabis, including seeds, parts of plants, extracts, and cannabis products, in the process of production, transfer, or analysis in such a manner as to prevent diversion, theft, or loss; shall make cannabis, including the seeds, parts of plants, extracts, and cannabis products accessible only to the minimum number of specifically authorized employees essential for efficient operation; and shall return such items to their secure location immediately after completion of the production, transfer, or analysis process or at the end of the scheduled business day. If a production process cannot be completed at the end of a working day, the pharmacist, responsible party, or other person authorized by the responsible party to supervise cultivation and production at the pharmaceutical processor or cannabis cultivation facility shall securely lock the processing area or tanks, vessels, bins, or bulk containers containing cannabis, including the seeds, parts of plants, extracts, and cannabis products, inside an area or building that affords adequate security.

G. The cannabis dispensing facility shall store all cannabis products in such a manner as to prevent diversion, theft, or loss; shall make cannabis products accessible only to the minimum number of specifically authorized employees essential for efficient operation; and shall return the cannabis products to their secure location at the completion of the dispensing or at end of the scheduled business day.

3 Va. Admin. Code § 10-40-210

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 40, Issue 11, eff. 1/1/2024.

Statutory Authority: §§ 4.1-601, 4.1-604, and 4.1-606 of the Code of Virginia.