For the purposes of this chapter:

(1) "Cannabidiol" or "CBD" means the compound by the same name derived from the hemp variety of the Cannabis sativa L. plant.

(2) "Commercial sales' means the sale of hemp products in the stream of commerce, at retail, wholesale, and online.

(3) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.

(4) "Cultivating" means planting, watering, growing, and harvesting a plant or crop.

(5) "Department" means the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.

(6) "Federally defined THC level for hemp" means a delta-9 THC concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, or the THC concentration for hemp defined in 7 U.S.C. SECTION 5940, whichever is greater.

(7) "Handling" means possessing or storing hemp for any period of time. "Handling" also includes possessing or storing hemp in a vehicle for any period of time other than during its actual transport from the premises of a licensed person to cultivate or process industrial hemp to the premises of another licensed person. "Handling" does not mean possessing or storing finished hemp products.

(8) "Hemp" or "industrial hemp" means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the nonsterilized 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. Hemp shall be considered an agricultural commodity.

(9) "Hemp products" means all products with the federally defined THC level for hemp derived from, or made by, processing hemp plants or hemp plant parts, that are prepared in a form available for commercial sale, including, but not limited to, cosmetics, personal care products, food intended for animal or human consumption, cloth, cordage, fiber, fuel, paint, paper, particleboard, plastics, and any product containing one or more hemp-derived cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol. Unprocessed or raw plant material, including nonsterilized hemp seeds, is not considered a hemp product.

(10) "Licensee" means an individual or business entity possessing a license issued by the department under the authority of this chapter to cultivate, handle, or process hemp.

(11) "Marijuana" has the same meaning as in Section 44-53-110 and does not include tetrahydrocannabinol in hemp or hemp products as defined herein.

(12) "Processing" means converting an agricultural commodity into a marketable form.

(13) "State plan" means the plan submitted by the department and approved by the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture pursuant to which the department regulates hemp production.

(14) "THC" means tetrahydrocannabinol.

HISTORY: 2014 Act No. 216 (S.839), Section 2, eff June 2, 2014; 2017 Act No. 37 (H.3559), Section 1, eff May 10, 2017; 2019 Act No. 14 (H.3449), Section 1, eff March 28, 2019.

Editor's Note

2019 Act No. 14, Section 3, provides as follows:

"SECTION 3. (A) The forty 2019 licenses issued pursuant to Chapter 55, Title 46 prior to the effective date of this act shall be valid for the term of the licenses, under the terms and conditions under which the licenses were issued, except that, upon the approval of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, each licensee may expand operations beyond the forty-acre limit and may cultivate hemp for commercial purposes.

"(B) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 46-55-20(B)(3), as amended by this act, as of the date licenses were issued for 2019, the South Carolina Department of Agriculture may issue additional licenses for 2019 to any applicant that met the licensing criteria but was denied solely because the department had already issued the legally permitted number of licenses for the year. Licenses issued pursuant to this subsection shall be for the same term, and under the same terms and conditions, under which the forty licenses identified in subsection (A) were issued. Licensees pursuant to this subsection also may expand operations beyond the forty-acre limit and may cultivate hemp for commercial purposes upon the approval of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.

"(C) The law under which licenses are issued shall be in full force and effect for those licenses during the term of the licenses."

Effect of Amendment

2017 Act No. 37, Section 1, in (1), inserted "any part of", "cannabinoids,", "construction materials,", and substituted "seed meal, supplements," for "seed meal and"; rewrote (2), relating to the definition of "industrial hemp"; in (3), substituted "Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol" for "Tetrahydrocannabinol"; and added (4), relating to the definition of "human consumption".

2019 Act No. 14, Section 1, rewrote the section.