18VAC110-60-330. Disposal of cannabis products.
A. To mitigate the risk of diversion, a pharmaceutical processor shall routinely and promptly dispose of undesired, excess, unauthorized, obsolete, adulterated, misbranded, or deteriorated green waste; chemical, dangerous, and hazardous waste; extracts; and cannabis products, as applicable. Green waste includes Cannabis plants seeds and parts of plants. Green waste shall be weighed, ground, and combined with a minimum of 51% non-cannabis waste to render the mixture inactive and unrecognizable. Once rendered unrecognizable, green waste shall be considered agricultural waste and may be disposed of accordingly.
B. The destruction and disposal of green waste, extracts, and cannabis oil, as applicable, shall be witnessed by a pharmacist or the responsible party of the pharmaceutical processor or cannabis dispensing facility, respectively, and shall be conducted under video surveillance. The persons destroying and disposing of the green waste, extracts, or cannabis products shall maintain and make available a separate record of each occurrence of destruction and disposal indicating:
1. The date and time of destruction and disposal;
2. The manner of destruction and disposal;
3. The name and quantity of cannabis product and green waste destroyed and disposed of; and
4. The signatures of the persons destroying and disposing of the green waste, extracts, or cannabis products.
C. Disposal of green waste may be by incineration, inert composting, or any other means of disposal or destruction.
D. A pharmaceutical processor may sell or otherwise distribute inert composted green waste.
E. The record of destruction and disposal shall be maintained at the pharmaceutical processor or cannabis dispensing facility for three years from the date of destruction and disposal.
F. Disposal of chemical, dangerous, and hazardous waste must be conducted in a manner consistent with federal, state, and local statutes and regulations. This may include any waste product soaked in a flammable solvent.
1. Any waste that may be hazardous must be treated as hazardous waste in regard to storage, labeling, and disposal.
2. The pharmaceutical processor can, alternatively, test waste that may be hazardous for elemental impurities content.
a. When tested for elemental impurities content, materials that meet the definition of hazardous waste, as defined by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) or other applicable federal, state, or local statutes and regulations, must be treated as hazardous waste. Such materials must be properly labeled, contained, stored, and disposed of in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protective Agency requirements, RCRA, and other applicable regulations for hazardous waste.
b. Materials that contain elemental impurities concentrations less than the allowable concentration limits as specified in RCRA and are not designated hazardous waste by other applicable federal, state, or local statutes and regulations, may be disposed of in accordance with this section.
Statutory Authority
§ 54.1-3442.6 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 35, Issue 23, eff. August 7, 2019; amended, Virginia Register Volume 37, Issue 1, eff. September 30, 2020; Volume 37, Issue 25, eff. September 1, 2021; Volume 39, Issue 24, eff. August 16, 2023.