(1) A retail marijuana cultivation facility license may be issued only to a person who cultivates retail marijuana for sale and distribution to licensed retail marijuana stores, retail marijuana products manufacturer licensees, retail marijuana hospitality and sales business, or other retail marijuana cultivation facilities.
A retail marijuana cultivation facility shall remit any applicable excise tax due inaccordance with article 28.8 of title 39, based on the average wholesale prices set by the state licensing authority.
A retail marijuana cultivation facility shall track the marijuana it cultivates from seedor immature plant to wholesale purchase. Prior to delivery of any sold retail marijuana, the retail marijuana cultivation facility shall provide evidence that it paid any applicable excise tax on the retail marijuana due pursuant to article 28.8 of title 39.
A retail marijuana cultivation facility may provide, except as required by section 4410-203 (2)(d), a sample of its products to a facility that has a retail marijuana testing facility license from the state licensing authority for testing and research purposes. A retail marijuana cultivation facility shall maintain a record of what was provided to the testing facility, the identity of the testing facility, and the testing results.
Retail marijuana or retail marijuana products may not be consumed on the premisesof a retail marijuana cultivation facility.
(a) A retail marijuana cultivation facility licensee may provide a retail marijuana sample and a retail marijuana concentrate sample to no more than five managers employed by the licensee for purposes of quality control and product development. A retail marijuana cultivation facility licensee may designate no more than five managers per calendar month as recipients of quality control and product development samples authorized pursuant to this subsection (6)(a).
An excise tax shall be levied and collected on the sample of unprocessed retail marijuana by a retail marijuana cultivation facility. The excise tax must be calculated based on the average market rate of the unprocessed retail marijuana.
A sample authorized pursuant to subsection (6)(a) of this section is limited to onegram of retail marijuana per batch as defined in rules promulgated by the state licensing authority, and one-quarter gram of a retail marijuana concentrate per batch as defined in rules promulgated by the state licensing authority; except that the limit is one-half gram of retail marijuana concentrate if the intended use of the final product is to be used in a device that can be used to deliver retail marijuana concentrate in a vaporized form to the person inhaling from the device.
A sample authorized pursuant to subsection (6)(a) of this section must be labeled andpackaged pursuant to the rules promulgated pursuant to section 44-10-203 (2)(f) and (3)(b).
A sample provided pursuant to subsection (6)(a) of this section must be tracked withthe seed-to-sale tracking system. Prior to a manager receiving a sample, a manager must be designated in the seed-to-sale tracking system as a recipient of quality control and product development samples. A manager receiving a sample must make a voluntary decision to be tracked in the seed-to-sale tracking system and is not a consumer pursuant to section 16 (5)(c) of article XVIII of the state constitution. The retail marijuana cultivation facility licensee shall maintain documentation of all samples and shall make the documentation available to the state licensing authority.
Prior to a manager receiving a sample pursuant to subsection (6)(a) of this section, aretail marijuana cultivation facility licensee shall provide a standard operating procedure to the manager explaining requirements pursuant to this section and personal possession limits pursuant to section 18-18-406.
A manager shall not:
Receive more than one ounce total of retail marijuana or eight grams of retail marijuana concentrate samples per calendar month, regardless of the number of licenses that the manager is associated with; or
Provide to or resell the sample to another licensed employee, a customer, or anyother individual.
(h) A retail marijuana cultivation facility licensee shall not:
(I) Allow a manager to consume the sample on the licensed premises; or (II) Use the sample as a means of compensation to a manager.
The state licensing authority may establish additional inventory tracking and recordkeeping, including additional reporting required for implementation. The retail marijuana cultivation facility licensee shall maintain the information required by this subsection (6)(i) on the licensed premises for inspection by the state and local licensing authorities.
For purposes of this subsection (6) only, "manager" means an employee of the retailmarijuana cultivation facility who holds a valid key license or associated key license and is currently designated pursuant to state licensing authority rules as the manager of the retail marijuana cultivation facility.
(7) (a) The state licensing authority may issue a centralized distribution permit to a retail marijuana cultivation facility authorizing temporary storage on its licensed premises of retail marijuana concentrate and retail marijuana products received from a retail marijuana business for the sole purpose of transfer to the permit holder's commonly owned retail marijuana stores. Prior to exercising the privileges of a centralized distribution permit, a retail marijuana cultivation facility licensed pursuant to this section shall, at the time of application to the state licensing authority, send a copy of the application or supplemental application for a centralized distribution permit to the local jurisdiction in which the centralized distribution permit is proposed. The state licensing authority shall notify the local jurisdiction of its decision regarding the centralized distribution permit.
A retail marijuana cultivation facility shall not store retail marijuana concentrate orretail marijuana products pursuant to a centralized distribution permit for more than ninety days.
A retail marijuana cultivation facility shall not accept any retail marijuana concentrate or retail marijuana products pursuant to a centralized distribution permit unless the retail marijuana concentrate and retail marijuana products are packaged and labeled for sale to a consumer as required by rules promulgated by the state licensing authority pursuant to section 44-10-203 (2)(f) and (3)(b).
All retail marijuana concentrate and retail marijuana products stored and prepared fortransport on a retail marijuana cultivation facility's licensed premises pursuant to a centralized distribution permit must only be transferred to a retail marijuana cultivation facility licensee's commonly owned retail marijuana stores. All transfers of retail marijuana concentrate and retail marijuana products by a retail marijuana cultivation facility pursuant to a centralized distribution permit are without consideration.
All security and surveillance requirements that apply to a retail marijuana cultivationfacility apply to activities conducted pursuant to the privileges of a centralized distribution permit.
A retail marijuana cultivation facility shall track all retail marijuana concentrate andretail marijuana products possessed pursuant to a centralized distribution permit in the seed-tosale tracking system from the point it is received from a retail marijuana business to the point of transfer to a retail marijuana cultivation facility licensee's commonly owned retail marijuana stores.
For purposes of this section only, "commonly owned" means licenses that have anownership structure with at least one natural person with a minimum of five percent ownership in each license.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a licensed retail marijuana cultivation facility may compensate its employees using performance-based incentives, including sales-based performance-based incentives.
An accelerator cultivator licensee may operate on the premises of a retail marijuanacultivation facility licensee if before each accelerator cultivator licensee operates, the retail marijuana cultivation facility licensee has its premises endorsed pursuant to rule and each accelerator cultivator licensee is approved to operate on that premises.
A retail marijuana cultivation facility licensee that hosts an accelerator cultivatorlicensee may, pursuant to rule, provide technical and compliance assistance to an accelerator cultivator licensee operating on its premises. A retail marijuana products manufacturer licensee that hosts an accelerator cultivator licensee may, pursuant to rule, provide capital assistance to an accelerator cultivator licensee operating on its premises.
A retail marijuana cultivation facility licensee that hosts an accelerator cultivatorlicensee, pursuant to rule and the state licensing authority discretion, may be eligible for incentives available through the department of revenue or the office of economic development and international trade, including but not limited to a reduction in application or license fees.
A retail marijuana cultivation facility shall only obtain retail marijuana seeds orimmature plants from its own retail marijuana, commonly owned from the medical marijuana of an identical direct beneficial owner, or marijuana that is properly transferred from another retail marijuana business pursuant to the inventory tracking requirements imposed by rule.
Source: L. 2019: Entire article added with relocations, (SB 19-224), ch. 315, p. 2909, § 5, effective January 1, 2020; (1) amended, (HB 19-1230), ch. 340, p. 3121, § 18, effective January 1, 2020. L. 2020: (9), (10), and (11) amended, (HB 20-1424), ch. 184, p. 846, § 8, effective September 14.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 44-12-403 as it existed prior to 2020.