Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia
Department 40 - RULES OF GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Chapter 40-32 - HEMP GROWERS AND PROCESSORS
Subject 40-32-1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Rule 40-32-1-.02 - Definitions

(1) "Acceptable hemp THC level" - when a laboratory tests a sample, it must report the total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis and the measurement of uncertainty. The acceptable hemp THC level is when the application of the measurement of uncertainty to the reported total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis produces a distribution or range that includes 0.3% or less. For example, if the reported total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis is 0.35% and the measurement of uncertainty is +/- 0.06%, the measured total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis for this sample ranges from 0.29% to 0.41%. Because 0.3% is within the distribution or range, the sample is within the acceptable hemp THC level for the purpose of compliance.

(2) "Agricultural Marketing Service" or "AMS" - the Agricultural Marketing Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.

(3) "Applicant" - a person or entity that submits an application for a Hemp Grower License or a Hemp Processor Permit. An application for an entity may be submitted by a person serving in an official capacity for the entity or by an agent who is authorized to sign for the entity.

(4) "Application" - the necessary and required written request which must be submitted to the Department by an applicant, as required by the Department, and which includes, but may not be limited to, all requirements of O.C.G.A. §§ 2-5-1 through 2-5-4.1 as stated therein.

(5) "Cannabis" - A genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae of which Cannabis sativa is a species, and Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis are subspecies thereof. Cannabis refers to any form of the plant in which the total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration on a dry weight basis has not yet been determined.

(6) "Commercial sale" - the sale of a product in the stream of commerce at retail, at wholesale, and online.

(7) "Commissioner" - the Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture.

(8) "Controlled Substances Act" or "CSA" - the federal Controlled Substances Act as codified in 21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.

(9) "Conviction" - a final judgment of conviction entered upon a verdict or finding of guilty of a crime or upon a plea of guilty.

(10) "Corrective Action Plan" - a plan established by the Department for a Licensee or Permittee to correct negligent violations of or non-compliance with the Georgia Hemp Farming Act or these Rules.

(11) "Covered growing facility" - a greenhouse, building or other structure identified by a licensee as a grow site and not used for residential purposes.

(12) "Culpable mental state greater than negligence" - to act intentionally, knowingly, willfully, or recklessly.

(13) "Cultivate" - means to plant, water, grow, and harvest a plant or crop for commercial use.

(14) "Decarboxylated" - the completion of the chemical reaction that converts THC-acid (THC-A) into delta-9-THC, the intoxicating component of cannabis. The decarboxylated value is also calculated using a molecular mass conversion ratio that sums delta-9 THC and eighty-seven and seven tenths (87.7) percent of THC-acid ((delta-9 THC) + (0.877 * THCA)).

(15) "Decarboxylation" - the removal or elimination of carboxyl group from a molecule or organic compound.

(16) "Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol" or "Delta-9 THC" - the primary psychoactive component of cannabis. For the purposes of this part, delta-9 THC and THC are interchangeable.

(17) "Department" - the Georgia Department of Agriculture, its agent(s), or its designee(s).

(18) "Dispose" or "Disposal" - an activity that transitions the non-compliant cannabis or cannabis product into a non-retrievable or non-ingestible form. Such activities include plowing, tilling, or disking plant material into the soil; mulching, composting, chopping, or bush mowing plant material into green manure; burning plant material; and burying plant material into the earth and covering with soil.

(19) "Drug Enforcement Administration" or "DEA" - the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

(20) "Dry weight basis" - the ratio of the amount of moisture in a sample to the amount of dry solid in a sample. A basis for expressing the percentage of a chemical in a substance after removing the moisture from the substance. Percentage of THC on a dry weight basis means the percentage of THC, by weight, in a cannabis item (plant, extract, or other derivative), after excluding moisture from the item.

(21) "Entity" - a corporation, joint stock company, association, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, irrevocable trust, estate, charitable organization, or other similar organization, including any such organization participating in the hemp production as a partner in a general partnership, a participant in a joint venture, or a participant in a similar organization.

(22) "Farm Service Agency" or "FSA" - the Farm Service Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture.

(23) "Federal Criminal History Report" - the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Identity History Summary.

(24) "Federally defined THC level for hemp" - a delta-9-THC concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, or as defined in 7 U.S.C. Section 1639o, whichever is greater.

(25) "Gas chromatography" or "GC" - a type of chromatography in analytical chemistry used to separate, identify, and quantify each component in a mixture. GC relies on heat for separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition.

(26) "Georgia Hemp Farming Act" - the Georgia law authorizing the Department to regulate hemp growers and processors, as provided in O.C.G.A. § 2-23-1 et. seq.

(27) "Geospatial location" or "GPS coordinates" - a location designated through a global system of navigational satellites used to determine the precise ground position of a place or object.

(28) "Grow site" - a contiguous lot, parcel, or tract of land identified in an approved Hemp Grower License on which a Licensee cultivates or intends to cultivate hemp. A Grow Site may include fields or covered growing facilities, as well as land and buildings that are not used to cultivate hemp. Each lot, parcel, or tract of land separated by a barrier or buffer of at least twelve feet (12') in width will be considered a separate Grow Site.

(29) "Handle" - to possess, dry, or store hemp plants for any period of time on premises owned, operated, or controlled by a person licensed to cultivate or permitted to process hemp, or to possess or store hemp plants in a vehicle for any period of time other than during the actual transport of such plants from the premises of a person licensed to cultivate or permitted to process hemp or a college or university authorized to conduct research pursuant to Code Section 2-23-4 to the premises of another licensed or permitted person or to a college or university authorized to conduct research pursuant to Code Section 2-23-4; provided, however, that this term does not include possessing or storing finished hemp products.

(30) "Harvest" - means the process of cutting, collecting, or otherwise removing, by hand or machinery, all or part of a live hemp plant, including but not limited to cuttings, flowers, foliage, or seeds, from their habitat in a field or covered growing facility.

(31) "Hemp" - the Cannabis sativa L. plant and any part of such plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with the federally defined THC level for hemp or a lower level.

(32) "Hemp Crop" - one (1) or more unprocessed hemp plant(s) or plant parts.

(33) "Hemp Grower License" or "Grower License" - a license issued by the Department under the authority of the Georgia Hemp Farming Act authorizing a person to handle and cultivate hemp in the State of Georgia

(34) "Hemp Processor Permit" or "Processor Permit" - a permit issued by the Department under the authority of the Georgia Hemp Farming Act authorizing a person to handle and process hemp in the State of Georgia.

(35) "Hemp Product" - all products with the federally defined THC level for hemp derived from, or made by, processing hemp plants or plant parts that are prepared in a form available for commercial sale, but not including food products infused with THC unless approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.

(36) "Information sharing system" - the database that allows USDA to share information collected under State, Tribal, and USDA plans with Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforcement.

(37) "Key participant" - a sole proprietor, a partner in partnership, a person with executive managerial control in any entity, or persons who have a direct financial interest in the entity producing hemp. A person with executive managerial control includes, but is not limited to, persons such as a chief executive officer, chief operating officer, and chief financial officer. This definition does not include non-executive managers such as farm, field, or shift managers.

(38) "Law enforcement" or "Law enforcement agency"- any Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency.

(39) "Licensee" - an individual or business entity possessing a Hemp Grower License issued by the Department under the authority of the Georgia Hemp Farming Act to handle and cultivate hemp for commercial purposes in the State of Georgia.

(40) "Live Hemp Plant" - for purposes of these Rules, any whole or propagative part of the cannabis plant capable or intended for propagation or growth, including living cannabis flowers and plants, immature plants, and vegetative stage plants, but excluding cannabis seeds.

(41) "Lot" - a contiguous area in a field or covered growing facility containing the same variety or strain of cannabis throughout the area.

(42) "Measurement of Uncertainty" or "MU" - the parameter, associated with the result of a measurement, that characterizes the dispersion of the values that could reasonably be attributed to the particular quantity subject to measurement.

(43) "Negligence" - failure to exercise the level of care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in complying with the Georgia Hemp Farming Act and these Rules.

(44) "Permittee" - an individual or business entity possessing a Hemp Processor Permit issued by the Department under the authority of the Georgia Hemp Farming Act to handle and process hemp in the State of Georgia.

(45) "Person" - a natural person, corporation, foundation, organization, business trust, estate, limited liability company, licensed corporation, trust, partnership, limited liability partnership, association, or other form of legal business entity, as well as a state or local government entity.

(46) "Phytocannabinoid" - cannabinoid chemical compounds found in the cannabis plant, two of which are Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9 THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).

(47) "Postdecarboxylation" - in the context of testing methodologies for THC concentration levels in hemp, means a value determined after the process of decarboxylation that determines the total potential delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content derived from the sum of the THC and THCA content and reported on a dry weight basis. The postdecarboxylation value of THC can be calculated by using a chromatograph technique using heat, gas chromatography, through which THCA is converted from its acid form to its neutral form, THC. Thus, this test calculates the total potential THC in a given sample. The postdecarboxylation value of THC can also be calculated by using a liquid chromatograph technique, which keeps the THCA intact. This technique requires the use of the following conversion: [Total THC = (0.877 x THCA) + THC] which calculates the potential total THC in a given sample. See the definition for decarboxylation.

(48) "Process" or "processing" - converting an agricultural commodity, including hemp, into a legally marketable form. This definition does not include:

(49) "Produce" - to grow hemp plants for market, or for cultivation for market, in the United States.

(50) "Product lot" - a specific quantity of finished hemp products having uniform character and quality within specified limits.

(51) "Remediate" or "Remediation" - the process of rendering non-compliant cannabis, compliant. Remediation can occur by removing and destroying flower material, while retaining stalk, stems, leaf material, and seeds. Remediation can also occur by shredding the entire plant into a biomass like material, then re-testing the shredded biomass material for compliance.

(52) "Residential Purposes" - use or intended use of a building or portion thereof, including but not limited to apartments, townhomes, and other multi-family structures, for occupancy by one or more persons for living, sleeping, cooking, or eating.

(53) "Reverse distributor" - a person who is registered with the DEA in accordance with 21 CFR 1317.15 to dispose of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act.

(54) "Secretary" - the United States Secretary of Agriculture.

(55) "THC" - tetrahydrocannabinol, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, or a combination of tetrahydrocannabinol and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid.

(56) "Total THC" - the value determined after the process of decarboxylation, or the application of a conversion factor if the testing methodology does not include decarboxylation, that expresses the potential total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content derived from the sum of the THC and THCA content and reported on a dry weight basis. This post-decarboxylation value of THC can be calculated by using a chromatograph technique using heat, such as gas chromatography, through which THCA is converted from its acid form to its neutral form, THC. Thus, this test calculates the total potential THC in a given sample. The total THC can also be calculated by using a liquid chromatograph technique, which keeps the THCA intact. This technique requires the use of the following conversion: [Total THC = (0.877 x THCA) + THC] which calculates the potential total THC in a given sample.

(57) "USDA" - the United States Department of Agriculture.

(58) "Variety" - a group of plants or an individual plant that exhibits distinctive observable physical characteristic(s) or has a distinct genetic composition. For purposes of these Rules, "variety" is synonymous and interchangeable with "strain".

(59) "Volunteer cannabis plant" - any cannabis plant that: (a) Grows of its own accord from seeds or roots in the years following an intentionally planted cannabis crop; and (b) Is not intentionally planted.