15.01.030 Definitions

(a) The following terms and phrases used in this chapter are arranged in alphabetical order. More detailed definitions of some technical terms are contained in the USDA Final Rule, Subchapter A which is adopted and incorporated by reference in this chapter.

(1) "Acceptable hemp THC level" is when the application of the measurement of uncertainty to the reported delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis produces a distribution or range that includes 0.3% or less. For example, if the reported delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis is 0.35% and the measurement of uncertainty is +/- 0.06%, the measured delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis for this sample ranges from 0.29% to 0.41%. Because 0.3% is within the distribution or range, the sample is within the acceptable hemp THC level for plan compliance. This definition of "acceptable hemp THC level" 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.

(2) "Agricultural Marketing Service" or "AMS" means the Agricultural Marketing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

(3) "Cannabis" means a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae of which Cannabissativais a species, and Cannabis indica 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.

(4) "Conviction" means any plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or any finding of guilt, except when the finding of guilt is subsequently overturned on appeal, pardoned, or expunged. For purposes of this chapter, a conviction is expunged when the conviction is removed from the individual's criminal history record and there are no legal disabilities or restrictions associated with the expunged conviction, other than the fact that the conviction may be used for sentencing purposes for subsequent convictions. In addition, where an individual is allowed to withdraw an original plea of guilty or nolo contendere and enter a plea of not guilty and the case is subsequently dismissed, the individual is no longer considered to have a conviction.

(5) "Corrective action plan" means a plan established by the Tribe for a licensed hemp producer to correct a negligent violation or non-compliance.

(6) "Criminal History Report" means the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Identity History Summary.

(7) "Culpable mental state greater than negligence" means to act intentionally, knowingly, willfully, or recklessly.

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

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

(10) "Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol" or "THC" is the primary psychoactive component of cannabis. For the purposes of this part, delta-9 THC and THC are interchangeable.

(11) "Disposal" means an activity that transitions a non-compliant product into a non-retrievable or non-ingestible form. Such activities include plowing, tilling, or disking plant material into the soil; mulching, composting, chopping, or bush mowing plant material into green manure; burning plant material; burying plant material into the earth and covering with soil.

(12) "Drug Enforcement Administration" or "DEA" means the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

(13) "Dry weight basis" means the ratio of the amount of moisture in a sample to the amount of dry solid in a sample. A basis for expressing 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.

(14) "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, including any such organization participating in the hemp production as a partner in a general partnership, a participant in a joint venture, or a participant in a similar organization.

(15) "Farm Service Agency" or "FSA" is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture.

(16) "Gas chromatography" or "GC" means a type of chromatography in analytical chemistry used to separate, identify, and quantify each component in a mixture. GC relies on heat for separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition.

(17) "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.

(18) "Hemp" means the plant species 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.

(19) "High-performance liquid chromatography" or "HPLC" is 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.

(20) "Key participants" means a sole proprietor, a partner in partnership, or a person with executive managerial control in a corporation. A person with executive managerial control includes persons such as a chief executive officer, chief operating officer and chief financial officer. This definition does not include non-executive managers such as farm, field, or shift managers.

(21) "Law enforcement agency" refers to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department or, in some circumstances, a Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency.

(22) "Lot" means a contiguous area in a field, greenhouse, or indoor growing structure containing the same variety or strain of cannabis throughout the area. The term lot also means the terms "farm," "tract," "field," and "subfield" as these are terms are used by FSA in 7 CFR 718.2 to define lot.

(23) "Marijuana" or "marihuana" means all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin. The term 'marihuana' does not include hemp, as defined in section 297A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 and does not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination (7 U.S.C. 1639o). "Marihuana" means all cannabis that tests as having a concentration level of THC on a dry weight basis of higher than 0.3 percent.

(24) "Measurement of Uncertainty (MU)" is the parameter, associated with the result of a measurement, that characterizes the dispersion of the values that could reasonably be attributed to the quantity subject to measurement.

(25) "Negligence" means the failure to exercise the level of care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in complying with this chapter.

(26) "Post decarboxylation" means a value determined after the process of decarboxylation that determines the total potential delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content derived from the sum of the THC and THC-A content and reported on a dry weight basis. The post decarboxylation value of THC can be calculated by using a chromatograph 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 post decarboxylation value of THC can also be calculated by using a high-performance liquid chromatograph technique, which keeps the THC-A intact, and requires a conversion calculation of that THC-A to calculate total potential THC in a given sample.

(27) "Produce" means to grow hemp plants for market, or for cultivation for market, in the United States. For purposes of this chapter it also includes, but is not limited to, cultivation, extraction, obtaining seeds, handling hemp, storage, transportation and shipment of hemp to market.

(28) "Remediation" refers to the process of rendering non-compliant cannabis, compliant. Remediation can occur by removing and destroying flower material, while retaining stalk, stems, leaf material, and seeds. Remediation can also occur by shredding the entire plant into a biomass like material, then re-testing the shredded biomass material for compliance.

(29) "Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe" or "Tribe" means the federally recognized Indian Tribe, the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe with government offices in Akwesasne, New York.

(30) "Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police" means the law enforcement department for the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe with police authority over Tribal Territory.

(31) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

(32) "Total THC" is the value determined after the process of decarboxylation, or the application of a conversion factor if the testing methodology does not include decarboxylation, that expresses the potential total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content derived from the sum of the THC and THCA content and reported on a dry weight basis. This post-decarboxylation value of THC can be calculated by using a chromatograph technique using heat, such as 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 total THC can also be calculated by using a liquid chromatograph technique, which keeps the THCA intact. This technique requires the use of the following conversion: [Total THC = (0.877 x THCA) + THC] which calculates the potential total THC in a given sample.

(33) "Tribal Member" or "Mohawk Tribal Member" means a person who is enrolled in the Tribe under the Tribe's Membership Code or a person who is eligible to be enrolled regardless of where they reside.

(34) "Tribal Member-Owned Business" or "Tribal Member Business" means an entity that is more than fifty percent (50%) owned and controlled by a Tribal Member. "Controlled" means to have controlling interest whereby a person holds a majority of a company's voting stock, giving them significant influence over any corporate actions. A person or group of persons having a controlling interest will be able to direct the course of a company and make strategic and operational decisions.

(35) "Tribal Territory" or "Mohawk Tribal Territory" means all lands within the 1796 Treaty with the Seven Nations of Canada (97 Stat. 55) and includes any other lands over which the Tribe exercises jurisdiction. It also includes rights-of-way running through the 1796 Reservation; and any land title to which is either held in trust by the United States for the benefit the Tribe or individual or held by the Tribe or individual subject to restriction by the United States against alienation and over which the Tribe exercises jurisdiction.