A. No person shall operate a pharmaceutical processor without first obtaining a permit from the Board. The application for such permit shall be made on a form provided by the Board and signed by a pharmacist who will be in full and actual charge of the pharmaceutical processor. The Board shall establish an application fee and other general requirements for such application.

B. Each permit shall expire annually on a date determined by the Board in regulation. The number of permits that the Board may issue or renew in any year is limited to one for each health service area established by the Board of Health. Permits shall be displayed in a conspicuous place on the premises of the pharmaceutical processor.

C. The Board shall adopt regulations establishing health, safety, and security requirements for pharmaceutical processors. Such regulations shall include requirements for (i) physical standards; (ii) location restrictions; (iii) security systems and controls; (iv) minimum equipment and resources; (v) recordkeeping; (vi) labeling and packaging; (vii) quarterly inspections; (viii) processes for safely and securely cultivating Cannabis plants intended for producing cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil, producing cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil, and dispensing and delivering in person cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil to a registered patient, his registered agent, or, if such patient is a minor or an incapacitated adult as defined in § 18.2-369, such patient's parent or legal guardian; (ix) a maximum number of marijuana plants a pharmaceutical processor may possess at any one time; (x) the secure disposal of plant remains; (xi) a process for registering a cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil product; (xii) dosage limitations, which shall provide that each dispensed dose of cannabidiol oil or THC-A not exceed 10 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol; and (xiii) a process for the wholesale distribution of and the transfer of cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil products between pharmaceutical processors.

D. Every pharmaceutical processor shall be under the personal supervision of a licensed pharmacist on the premises of the pharmaceutical processor.

E. The Board shall require an applicant for a pharmaceutical processor permit to submit to fingerprinting and provide personal descriptive information to be forwarded along with his fingerprints through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of obtaining criminal history record information regarding the applicant. The cost of fingerprinting and the criminal history record search shall be paid by the applicant. The Central Criminal Records Exchange shall forward the results of the criminal history background check to the Board or its designee, which shall be a governmental entity.

F. In addition to other employees authorized by the Board, a pharmaceutical processor may employ individuals who may have less than two years of experience (i) to perform cultivation-related duties under the supervision of an individual who has received a degree in horticulture or a certification recognized by the Board or who has at least two years of experience cultivating plants and (ii) to perform extraction-related duties under the supervision of an individual who has a degree in chemistry or pharmacology or at least two years of experience extracting chemicals from plants.

G. No person who has been convicted of (i) a felony under the laws of the Commonwealth or another jurisdiction or (ii) within the last five years, any offense in violation of Article 1 (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) or Article 1.1 (§ 18.2-265.1 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2 or a substantially similar offense under the laws of another jurisdiction shall be employed by or act as an agent of a pharmaceutical processor.

H. Every pharmaceutical processor shall adopt policies for pre-employment drug screening and regular, ongoing, random drug screening of employees.

2017, c. 613; 2018, c. 567; 2019, cc. 417, 681, 690.