Iowa Admin. Code r. 21-96.1 - [Rescinded] Definitions

"Acceptable hemp THC concentration" means when an official laboratory tests a sample, the laboratory must report the delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content concentration on a dry weight basis and the measurement uncertainty. The acceptable hemp THC concentration is for the purpose of compliance when the application of the measurement uncertainty to the reported THC concentration on a dry weight basis produces a distribution or range that includes 0.3 percent or less. For example, if the reported THC concentration on a dry weight basis is 0.35 percent and the measurement uncertainty is +/- 0.06 percent, the measured THC concentration on a dry weight basis for this sample ranges from 0.29 percent to 0.41 percent. Because 0.3 percent is within the distribution or range, the sample is within the acceptable hemp THC concentration for the purpose of compliance. This definition of "acceptable hemp THC concentration" affects neither the statutory definition of hemp, 7 U.S.C. 1639o(1), in the 2018 Farm Bill nor the definition of "marihuana,"21 U.S.C. 802(16), in the CSA.

"Applicant" means any of the following:

1. An individual with 5 percent, or more, legal or equitable interest in the hemp crop.

2. An individual applying as a member of a business entity, if that individual's legal or equitable interest in the business entity is 5 percent or more.

3. Key participants in a corporate entity at the executive levels including chief executive officer, chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

4. If an applicant is acting on behalf of an institution governed by the state board of regents, as defined in Iowa Code section 262.7, or a community college, as defined in Iowa Code section 260C.2, "applicant" means the individual, or individuals, appointed by the president or chancellor of the institution to obtain hemp permits from the department. Other institutions of higher learning may also apply by designating an appropriate authorized representative.

5. If an applicant is acting on behalf of an association, the association shall designate an authorized representative.

"Authorized representative" means an individual designated by an applicant to act on behalf of and represent the applicant in communicating with the department for the purposes of applying for a license, submitting reports, receiving documents and information from the department, and acting as the sole primary contact pertaining to the license. An applicant may only have one authorized representative. An authorized representative shall not be a business entity.

"Business entity" means an organization created or operated by one or more individuals to carry on a trade or business.

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

"Certificate of analysis" means the certificate issued by the department following the official preharvest inspection, sampling and testing for total tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration if the THC concentration is 0.3 percent or less by dry weight matter. The certificate of analysis shall contain the results of the department's official laboratory test of the postdecarboxylation value concentration of the officially sampled hemp crop following the preharvest report. The certificate of analysis shall be combined with a certificate of crop inspection.

"Controlled Substances Act" or "CSA" means the Controlled Substances Act as codified in 21 U.S.C. 801, et seq.

"Crop site" or "site" means a single contiguous parcel of land suitable for the planting, growing, or harvesting of hemp, if the tract of land does not exceed 320 acres. All the area within the contiguous tract is part of the crop site. Unplanted areas, including spacing between planted rows, are part of the crop site for purposes of determining the size of a site. The crop site shall not be a dwelling.

"Cultivar" means a group of cultivated plants that are not necessarily true to type, or plants whose seed will yield the same type of plant as the original plant. A cultivar may originate as a mutation or may be a hybrid of two plants. To further develop into a variety, or propagate true-to-type clones, cultivars must be propagated vegetatively through cuttings, grafting, and even tissue culture.

"Decarboxylated" means the completion of the chemical reaction that converts THC-acid (THCA) into delta-9-THC, the intoxicating component of cannabis. The decarboxylated value is also calculated using a conversion formula that sums up delta-9-THC and 87.7 percent of THCA.

"Decarboxylation" means the removal or elimination of a carboxyl group from a molecule or organic compound.

"Department" means the Iowa department of agriculture and land stewardship.

"Destruction" means the procedure to render unusable by burning, incorporating with other materials, or other methods approved by the department.

"Destruction report" means the report and notice that shall be submitted to the department on the required departmental form, no more than 48 hours after the crop has been destroyed, as ordered by the department.

"Drug felony conviction report" means a mandatory report submitted within 14 days of the conviction to the department on the required departmental form by any authorized representative or applicant who is convicted of a disqualifying felony offense.

"Dry weight basis" means the ratio of the amount of dry solid in a sample after drying to the total mass of the sample before drying, including the moisture in a sample. Dry weight basis is 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.

"Dwelling" means a residence and all permanent or temporary structures attached to the residence.

"Entity" means a corporation, joint-stock company, association, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, irrevocable trust, estate, charitable organization, or other similar organization participating in the production of hemp, including but not limited to as a partner, joint venture, or other relationship.

"Farm Service Agency" or "FSA" means the Farm Service Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture.

"Geospatial location" means a location designated through a global system of navigational satellites used to determine the precise ground position of a place or object.

"Hemp" means:

1. 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 0.3 percent or less ona dry weight basis when tested using postdecarboxylation or other similarly reliable methods.

2. A plant of the genus Cannabis other than Cannabis sativa L., with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of 0.3 percent or less on a dry weight basis when tested using postdecarboxylation or other similarly reliable methods, but only to the extent allowed by the department in accordance with applicable federal law, including the federal hemp law.

"Hemp bill of lading" means a document of title evidencing the receipt of hemp for shipment issued by an individual engaged in the business of directly or indirectly transporting or forwarding hemp. The term does not include a warehouse receipt. The term does not include hemp transported within the state of Iowa by a person for that person's sole use. A hemp bill of lading shall include the following:

1. The name and address of the owner of the hemp;

2. The point of origin;

3. The point of delivery, including name and address;

4. The kind and quantity of packages or, if in bulk, the total quantity of hemp in the shipment; and

5. The date of shipment.

"High-performance liquid chromatography" or "HPLC" means a type of chromatography technique in analytical chemistry used to separate, identify, and quantify each component in a mixture. HPLC relies on pumps to pass a pressurized liquid solvent containing the sample mixture through a column filled with a solid adsorbent material to separate and analyze compounds.

"Individual" means a single human being. An entity is not an individual.

"Indoor crop site" means:

1. A structure covered with transparent material, such as glass or polyurethane, which is specifically designed, constructed and used for the culture and propagation of hemp. Common industry terms for indoor crop sites include, but are not limited to, greenhouse, glasshouse, and hothouse; or

2. A structure, or a room within a structure, used for the culture and propagation of hemp.

"License" means a license granted by the department to grow hemp in Iowa.

"License application" means the department's form submitted to obtain a license to grow hemp in Iowa.

"Lot" means a contiguous area in a field, greenhouse, or indoor crop site containing the same variety, cultivar, or strain of cannabis throughout. No plant within a lot shall be planted more than 14 days after the initial plant or seed was planted. In addition, "lot" is a common term in agriculture that refers to the batch or contiguous, homogeneous whole of a product being sold to a single buyer at a single time. For the purpose of this chapter, "lot" is to be defined by the producer in terms of farm location, field acreage, variety, cultivar or strain and to be reported as such to the FSA.

"Map" means a diagram depicting all borders of the crop site including the nearest roads to aid in orientation, the cardinal direction north, and the boundaries of the legally described parcel in which the crop site is located. A map designating an outdoor crop site shall clearly indicate the names, or lot numbers, of all lots and planting locations. If multiple varieties, cultivars, or strains are planted, or if the crop site shall be subdivided into separate lots for the official laboratory test, the map shall indicate the lots and sub-lots with names of the varieties, cultivars, or strains.

"Measurement uncertainty" or "MU" means the parameter, associated with the result of a measurement, that characterizes the dispersion of the values that could be reasonably attributed to the particular quantity subject to measurement.

"Official laboratory test" means a test of postdecarboxylation value concentration performed by the department. The laboratory quantitative determination of the THC concentration shall use postdecarboxylation and be measured using gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GS-FID), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or another acceptable method as determined by the department.

"Official sample" means the preharvest hemp sample collected by the department, in accordance with department policy, which is used to assess the THC concentration of a single lot of hemp.

"Order of destruction" means the order furnished to the licensee by the department, in consultation with the department of public safety, ordering the destruction of cannabis that exceeds the acceptable hemp THC concentration.

"Outdoor crop site" means any crop site that is not an indoor crop site.

"Planting report" means the report and notice submitted to the department on the required departmental planting report form. Planting reports are required for both indoor and outdoor hemp crops.

"Postdecarboxylation value," in the context of testing methodologies for THC concentration in hemp, means a value determined after the process of decarboxylation that determines the total potential delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content derived from the sum of the THC and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) content and reported on a dry weight basis. The postdecarboxylation value of THC can be calculated by using a chromatographic 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 high-performance liquid chromatograph technique, which keeps the THCA intact and requires a conversion calculation of that THCA to calculate total potential THC in a given sample.

"Postharvest report" means the report and notice that the licensee shall deliver to the department on the required departmental postharvest report form, no more than 30 days after the harvest of a lot is complete.

"Preharvest inspection" means the inspection to collect one or more official samples for official laboratory testing.

"Preharvest report" means the report and notice that the licensee shall deliver to the department on the required departmental preharvest form in order to request a preharvest inspection. The licensee shall submit the preharvest report no less than 30 days prior to the expected harvest date of any hemp crop.

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

"Strain" means variations of a cultivar, generally from breeding techniques or genetic mutations.

"Sub-lot" means an area divided from a larger lot. A lot may be divided into multiple sub-lots.

"Temporary harvest and transportation permit" means a temporary and limited permit issued by the department when the official sample is taken, allowing the harvest and transportation of the officially tested crop prior to the completion of official laboratory sampling.

"THC" means total tetrahydrocannabinol as determined by an official laboratory test postdecarboxylation.

"Variety" means a plant grouping within a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank that, without regard to whether the conditions for plant variety protection are fully met, can be defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting from a given genotype or combination of genotypes, distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expression of at least one characteristic and considered as a unit with regard to the suitability of the plant grouping for being propagated unchanged. A variety may be represented by seed, transplants, plants, tubers, tissue culture plantlets, and other matter.

Notes

Iowa Admin. Code r. 21-96.1

Adopted by IAB January 1, 2020/Volume XLII, Number 14, effective 12/11/2019 Amended by IAB March 11, 2020/Volume XLII, Number 19, effective 2/24/2020 Amended by IAB June 17, 2020/Volume XLII, Number 26, effective 7/22/2020 Amended by IAB January 11, 2023/Volume XLV, Number 14, effective 1/3/2023 Rescined by IAB January 8, 2025/Volume XLVII, Number 14, effective 2/12/2025