Ohio Administrative Code
Title 3796:2 - Cultivators
Chapter 3796:2-1 - Licensing; Certificates of Operation
Section 3796:2-1-03 - Cultivator application review
Universal Citation: OH Admin Code 3796:2-1-03
Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) The department, an independent contractor selected by the department, or a combination of the two shall review the submitted applications as described in this chapter and the application instructions. In order to receive consideration under paragraph (B) of this rule, an applicant shall:
(1)
Demonstrate
sufficient liquid capital pursuant to rule
3796:2-1-02
of the Administrative Code and an ability to meet the financial responsibility
requirements under rule
3796:2-1-05
of the Administrative Code;
(2)
Certify in
writing at the time of application that an owner or prospective owner, officer
or prospective officer, board member or prospective board member, administrator
or prospective administrator, employee or prospective employee, agent, or other
person has not been:
(a)
Convicted of a disqualifying offense, as defined in
rule
3796:1-1-01 of the
Administrative Code; or
(b)
Issued a certificate to recommend or applied for
certification under section
4731.30 of the Revised
Code;
(3)
Verify that the proposed facility is not located within
five hundred feet of a prohibited facility, which shall be measured in
accordance with rule
3796:5-5-01
of the Administrative Code;
(4)
Certify that the
local jurisdiction where the facility is proposed has not passed a moratorium
or taken other action that would prohibit the applicant from operating as a
medical marijuana cultivator;
(5)
Certify that an
owner or prospective owner, officer or prospective officer, board member or
prospective board member, administrator or prospective administrator, employee
or prospective employee, agent, or other person who may significantly influence
or control the activities of the cultivator does not have an ownership or
investment interest, or compensation agreement with, or share any corporate
officers or employees with any of the following:
(a)
A laboratory
licensed under Chapter 3796. of the Revised Code; or
(b)
An applicant for
a license to conduct laboratory testing under Chapter 3796. of the Revised
Code;
(6)
Provide documentation sufficient to establish that the
applicant is in compliance with the applicable tax laws of this state and any
jurisdiction where the applicant operates and conducts business;
and
(7)
Submit an application with the applicable fee under
rule
3796:5-1-01 of the
Administrative Code that does not contain information that misleads the
department, misrepresents a material fact, or is received after the established
application submission period established under paragraph (A) of rule
3796:2-1-02
of the Administrative Code.
(B) The applicants shall be ranked using an impartial and numerical process taking into account the criteria identified in rule 3796:2-1-02 of the Administrative Code, as developed by the department, an independent contractor selected by the department, or a combination of the two. The applicants will be ranked based on the following criteria, at a minimum:
(1)
A business plan,
which, at a minimum, shall include:
(a)
A proposed business model demonstrating a likelihood of
success, a sufficient business ability, and experience on the part of the
applicant;
(b)
An organizational chart of the company, including name,
address, and date of birth of each principal officer and board member of the
cultivator, provided that all those individuals shall be at least twenty-one
years of age;
(c)
Experience, which includes information on business
licenses held by any person affiliated with the applicant, regardless if said
license is active, revoked, suspended, or expired. If expired, applicant shall
provide the grounds behind the expiration. The information provided on business
licenses shall include the type of license, the licensing agency, the date the
license was obtained, and a summary of any negative actions taken against each
license;
(d)
Evidence that the applicant owns the property on which
the proposed cultivator will be located, has executed a lease for the property
that does not contain any use restrictions that would otherwise prevent the
cultivator from operating pursuant to Chapter 3796. of the Revised Code and the
rules promulgated in accordance with Chapter 3796. of the Revised Code, or has
secured the ability to purchase or lease the property that does not contain any
use restrictions that would otherwise prevent the cultivator from operating
pursuant to Chapter 3796. of the Revised Code and the rules promulgated in
accordance with Chapter 3796. of the Revised Code; and
(e)
Documentation
that the applicant is in compliance with any local ordinances, rules, or
regulations adopted by the locality in which the applicant's property is
located, which are in effect at the time of the application. Such documentation
may include, but is not limited to, local building department approval
demonstrating compliance with rules adopted by the board of building standards
pursuant to Chapters 3781. and 3791. of the Revised Code to construct the
proposed facility, local approval to operate as a medical marijuana cultivation
facility, and evidence that the applicant's proposed location is in compliance
with local ordinances, rules, or regulations adopted by the locality in which
the applicant's property is located, which are in effect at the time of
application.
(2)
An operations plan, which shall include, but not be
limited to, the following:
(a)
Documentation of cultivation methods and standards that
will provide a steady, uninterrupted supply of medical
marijuana;
(b)
Experience with the cultivation of medical marijuana,
or agricultural or horticultural products, operation of an agriculturally
related business, or operation of a horticultural business;
(c)
A list of medical
marijuana varieties proposed to be grown with estimated cannabinoid profiles,
if known, including varieties with high cannabidiol content;
(d)
Facility
specifications, including the cultivation environment, layout of the marijuana
cultivation area (i.e. grow tables, tiered or stacked orientation, et cetera.),
evidencing that the applicant will comply with the requirements of Chapter
3796. of the Revised Code and will operate in accordance with the rules
promulgated pursuant to Chapter 3796. of the Revised Code; and
(e)
Staffing and
training guidelines.
(3)
A quality
assurance plan, which shall include, but not be limited to, the
following:
(a)
Intended use of pesticides, fertilizers, and other agricultural products or
production control factors in the cultivation of medical
marijuana;
(b)
Best practices for the packaging and labeling of
medical marijuana;
(c)
Implementation and compliance with the inventory
tracking system;
(d)
An inventory control plan;
(e)
Standards for the
destruction of medical marijuana and disposal of waste; and
(f)
Recall policies
and procedures in the event of contamination, expiration, or other
circumstances that render the medical marijuana unsafe or unfit for
consumption, including at a minimum, identification of the products involved,
notification to the dispensary or others to whom the product was sold or
otherwise distributed, and how the products will be disposed of if returned to
or retrieved by the applicant;
(4)
A security plan,
which shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(a)
Policies and
procedures to ensure a secure, safe facility to prevent theft, loss, or
diversion and protect facility personnel;
(b)
Physical
equipment used to monitor the facility and meet the security requirements under
Chapter 3796. of the Revised Code and the rules promulgated in accordance with
Chapter 3796. of the Revised Code;
(c)
Emergency
notification procedures with the department, law enforcement, and emergency
response professionals;
(d)
A plot plan of the cultivation facility drawn to a
reasonable scale that designates the different areas of operation, including
the marijuana cultivation area, with the mandatory access restrictions;
and
(e)
Transportation policies and procedures, which includes
the transportation of medical marijuana from a cultivator to a processor or
dispensary and from a cultivator to a testing laboratory in the state of Ohio,
in accordance rule
3796:5-3-01
of the Administrative Code.
(5)
A financial plan,
which, at a minimum, shall include the following:
(a)
The identity and
ownership interest of every person, association, partnership, other entity, or
corporation having a financial interest, direct or indirect, in the cultivator
with respect to which licensure is sought;
(b)
A cost breakdown
of the applicant's anticipated costs in building the facility and implementing
the policies and procedures submitted as part of the application and the source
of funding for the associated costs;
(c)
Documentation
acceptable to the department that the individual or entity filing the
application has secured at least five hundred thousand dollars in liquid assets
for a level I cultivator provisional license and fifty thousand dollars in
liquid assets for a level II cultivator provisional license, which are
unencumbered and can be converted within thirty days after a request to
liquidate such assets;
(i)
Documentation acceptable to the department shall
include, as evidence of compliance, a signed statement from an Ohio licensed
certified public accountant attesting to proof of the required amount of liquid
assets under the control of an owner or the entity applying, if such a
statement is available at the time of application.
(ii)
The
documentation must be dated within thirty calendar days before the date the
application was submitted.
(d)
Information
verifying that the applicant will be able to conform to the financial
responsibility requirements under rule
3796:2-1-05
of the Administrative Code; and
(e)
A record of tax
payments in the form of tax summary pages for individuals and businesses at the
state and federal level and in all jurisdictions in which an applicant has
operated as a business, and for every person with a financial interest of one
per cent or greater in the applicant for the three years before the filing of
the application, unless the department determines that documentation should be
submitted for all individuals and entities.
(6)
Any other
information that the department deems necessary to evaluate and determine the
applicant's suitability to operate as a cultivator.
(C) In addition to the criteria established in paragraph (B) of this rule, the department may also consider the following when awarding a provisional license:
(1)
Principal place
of business;
(a)
The applicant must provide documentation establishing
that its principal place of business is headquartered in Ohio. The applicant
may also provide names, addresses, and verification of any persons associated
with the applicant that have established residency in Ohio.
(b)
The applicant may
also provide a plan for generating Ohio-based jobs and economic
development.
(2)
Environmental plan;
(a)
The applicant
must demonstrate an environmental plan of action to minimize the carbon
footprint, energy usage, environmental impact, and resource needs for the
production of medical marijuana.
(b)
The applicant may
also describe any plans for the construction or use of a greenhouse cultivation
facility, energy efficient lighting, use of alternative energy, the treatment
of waste water and runoff, and scrubbing or treatment of exchanged
air.
(3)
Employment practices, which the applicant must
demonstrate a plan of action to inform, hire, and educate minorities, women,
veterans, disabled persons, and Ohio residents;
(4)
Verification of
economically disadvantaged groups; and
(a)
The applicant
must demonstrate the following:
(i)
It is owned and controlled by a United States citizen
who is a resident of this state and is a member of one of the economically
disadvantaged groups set forth in division (C) of section
3796.09 of the Revised Code. As
used in that section, "owned and controlled" means that at least fifty-one per
cent of the business, including corporate stock if a corporation, is owned by
persons who belong to one or more of the groups set forth in this rule, and
that those owners have control over the management and day-to-day operations of
the business and an interest in the capital, assets, and profits and losses of
the business proportionate to their percentage of ownership; or
(ii)
It is owned and
controlled as a woman-owned business by a United States citizen who is a
resident of this state. For purposes of this paragraph, "owned and controlled"
has the same ownership and control requirements as listed in paragraph
(C)(4)(a)(i) of this rule.
(5)
Research plan,
which the applicant must provide the department with a detailed proposal to
conduct or facilitate a scientific study or studies related to the medicinal
use of marijuana.
(D) The department may request additional information as part of the application review process from an applicant that otherwise meets all of the requirements under paragraph (A) of this rule. The applicant shall have thirty calendar days from the date the applicant receives the department's request to provide the information. If the applicant fails to provide the requested information within thirty calendar days, it will result in an abandoned application. An abandoned application shall not receive further consideration.
(E) An applicant forfeits all fees associated with an abandoned application. The department shall not be required to act on an abandoned application and the application may be destroyed by the department. An abandoned application will not prevent an applicant from applying for a provisional license in the future if the department issues additional provisional licenses pursuant to paragraph (B) of rule 3796:2-1-01 of the Administrative Code.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Ohio may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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