The director of agriculture, in consultation with the governor and attorney general, shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing standards and procedures for the regulation of hemp processing. The director also shall adopt such rules, in consultation with the governor and attorney general, regarding hemp cultivation if the director implements a program to monitor and regulate hemp cultivation under division (A)(1) of section928.02of the Revised Code. The rules shall include all of the following:
(A) The form of an application for a hemp cultivation license and hemp processing license and the information required to be included in each license application;
(B) The amount of an initial application fee that an applicant shall submit along with an application for a hemp cultivation license or a hemp processing license, and the amount of an annual license fee that a licensee shall submit for a hemp cultivation license or a hemp processing license. In adopting rules under division (B) of this section, the director shall ensure both of the following:
(1) That the amount of the application fee and annual license fee does not exceed an amount sufficient to cover the costs incurred by the department of agriculture to administer and enforce this chapter;
(2) That there is one uniform application fee and one uniform annual license fee that applies to all applicants for a hemp cultivation license.
(C) Requirements and procedures concerning background investigations of each applicant for a hemp cultivation license and each applicant for a hemp processing license. The director shall include both of the following in the rules adopted under this division:
(1) A requirement that each applicant comply with sections4776.01to4776.04of the Revised Code;
(2) Provisions that prohibit the director from issuing a hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license to an applicant that has not complied with those sections.
(D) Requirements regarding the experience, equipment, facilities, or land necessary to obtain a hemp cultivation license;
(E) Requirements and procedures regarding standards of financial responsibility for each applicant for a hemp processing license.
(F) Procedures and requirements for the issuance, renewal, denial, suspension, and revocation of a hemp cultivation license and hemp processing license, including providing for a hearing under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code with regard to such a denial, suspension, or revocation;
(G) Grounds for the denial, suspension, and revocation of a hemp cultivation license and of a hemp processing license, including a requirement that the director revoke a hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license, for a period of ten years, of any person who pleads guilty to or is convicted of a felony relating to a controlled substance;
(H) A requirement that the director shall not issue a hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license to any person who has pleaded guilty to or been convicted of a felony relating to a controlled substance in the ten years immediately prior to the submission of the application for a license;
(I) A requirement that any person that materially falsifies information in an application for a hemp cultivation license or hemp processing license is ineligible to receive either license;
(J) A practice for maintaining relevant information regarding land on which hemp is cultivated by hemp cultivation licensees, including a legal description of the land, in accordance with applicable federal law;
(K) Requirements prohibiting a hemp cultivation licensee and a hemp processing licensee from cultivating or processing marihuana;
(L) A procedure for testing, using post-decarboxylation or other similarly reliable methods, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration levels of plants and products for purposes of determining compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it;
(M) Requirements and procedures for the issuance, administration, and enforcement of corrective action plans issued under this chapter;
(N) A procedure for conducting annual inspections of, at a minimum, a random sample of hemp cultivation license holders to verify that plants are not being cultivated in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under it;
(O) A procedure for conducting annual inspections of, at a minimum, a random sample of hemp processing license holders to verify that such license holders are not operating in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under it;
(P) A procedure for complying with enforcement procedures required under federal law;
(Q) A procedure for the effective disposal of all of the following:
(1) Plants, whether growing or not, cultivated in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under it;
(2) Products derived from plants cultivated in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under it;
(3) Products produced in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under it.
(R) Requirements and procedures governing the production, storage, and disposal of hemp byproducts.
For the purposes of this chapter and notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, "hemp product" includes a byproduct, produced as a result of processing hemp, that contains a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of more than three-tenths per cent, provided that the byproduct is produced, stored, and disposed of in accordance with rules adopted under division (R) of this section.
(S) Procedures for sharing information regarding hemp cultivation license holders with the secretary of the USDA;
(T) A setback distance requirement that specifies the distance that a hemp cultivation license holder shall locate hemp plants from a location where medical marijuana is being cultivated. The requirement does not apply to a hemp cultivation license holder with regard to a medical marijuana cultivator that locates medical marijuana within the established setback distance requirement after the hemp cultivation license holder begins operation.
(U) Annual reporting requirements and procedures for hemp cultivation license holders and hemp processing license holders;
(V) Recordkeeping and documentation maintenance requirements and procedures for hemp cultivation license holders and hemp processing license holders;
(W) Fees for the laboratory testing of plants and products;
(X) Standards for the testing and labeling of hemp and hemp products;
(Y) Requirements prohibiting the processing of hemp in a building used as a personal residence or on land that is zoned for residential use;
(Z) Production standards and manufacturing practices for processing hemp;
(AA) Procedures and requirements for the transportation and storage of both hemp and hemp products;
(BB) Any other requirements or procedures necessary to administer and enforce this chapter.
Last updated July 22, 2025 at 2:08 PM