94.55 Hemp.

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A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

94.55 Hemp.

(1)Definition. In this section, “hemp” means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis or the maximum concentration allowed under federal law up to 1 percent, whichever is greater, as tested using post-decarboxylation or other similarly reliable methods. “Hemp” does not include a prescription drug product that has been approved by the U.S. food and drug administration.

(2)Regulation of hemp.

(a)Subject to the provisions under this section, a person may plant, grow, cultivate, harvest, produce, sample, test, process, transport, transfer, take possession of, sell, import, and export hemp in this state to the greatest extent allowed under federal law.

(am)The department shall issue licenses to hemp producers if hemp producers are required to hold a license to produce hemp under federal law and if the secretary of the U.S. department of agriculture has approved this state’s hemp program. If the department issues such licenses, no person may produce hemp without a license from the department. Licenses from the department may authorize the planting, growing, cultivating, harvesting, producing, sampling, testing, processing, transporting, transferring, taking possession, selling, importing, and exporting of hemp. The department shall identify the requirements for applying for a license, approving or denying a license, and suspending or revoking a license, and shall identify the restrictions and obligations that apply to operating under a license. The department may restrict license eligibility based on a violation reported under sub.

(2m). The department shall accept license applications throughout the calendar year. The department may set license terms and may set late fees for license renewals.

1. The department shall promulgate rules regulating the activities described in par.

(a).

2. Except as provided under this section, rules promulgated under this section shall regulate the activities described in par.

(a)only to the extent required under federal law, and in a manner that allows the people of this state to have the greatest possible opportunity to engage in those activities.

2m. The department may establish all of the following:

a. A practice to maintain relevant information regarding land on which hemp is produced in this state, including a legal description of the land, as defined by the department, for a period of not less than 3 years.

b. A procedure for testing, using post-decarboxylation or other similarly reliable methods, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration levels of hemp.

c. A procedure for the effective disposal of plants, whether growing or not, that are produced in violation of this section, and products derived from those plants.

d. A procedure to comply with the enforcement provisions under subs.

(2g)and

(2m).

e. A procedure for conducting annual inspection of, at a minimum, a random sample of hemp producers to verify that hemp is not produced in violation of this section.

3. The department shall promulgate rules, as the department determines to be necessary, to ensure the quality of hemp produced in this state, the security of activities related to hemp, and the safety of products produced from hemp, including any necessary testing; to ensure that the state’s hemp program complies with federal law and to obtain and maintain any required federal approval of the state’s hemp program; to verify adherence to laws and rules governing activities related to hemp; and to enforce violations of those laws and rules.

4. The department shall require the payment of an initial fee from any person who produces hemp in this state equal to the greater of $150 or $5 multiplied by the number of acres on which the person will produce hemp, but not to exceed $1,000. The department may also impose an annual fee on any person whose activities related to hemp are regulated by the department under this paragraph, in an amount not to exceed an amount sufficient to cover the costs to the department of regulating those activities, as determined by the department by rule. The department may establish lower initial and annual fees for licenses issued for research or noncommercial purposes.

4g. The department may set criteria for approving persons to undertake any sampling and testing required by the department by rule. The department shall approve persons that meet the criteria to the extent allowed under federal law.

4m. When sampling and testing a crop of hemp, the department is not required to sample and test every growing location or every strain. The department may not require the sampling and testing of hemp seedlings or clones that are intended to be planted and that originated from hemp seed certified under par.

(c)or from hemp seed or clones approved for growing under par.

(f).

4s. Following any required sampling and testing, or if the department determines that sampling and testing are not required, the department shall issue a certificate that states that the hemp has been tested or is not required to be tested for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration and is in compliance with this section and rules promulgated under this section.

5. The department shall ensure that any of the following information that is in the department’s possession relating to a licensee or applicant for a license under this section is confidential and not open to public inspection or copying under s. 19.35

(1), except that it shall be made available to a law enforcement agency or law enforcement officer:

a. Information relating to the locations of hemp production locations.

b. Personally identifiable information relating to a person who is lawfully engaging in activities related to hemp, unless the person elects, during the application and licensing or renewal process, for the department to release any or all of the person’s personally identifiable information.

c. Information obtained about an individual as a result of any criminal history search performed in relation to authorizing the individual to engage in activities related to hemp.

d. Any other information about activities related to hemp that could create a security risk if disclosed.