Medical cannabis: the hundred metres from a school and how the premises must be built

It is Rule 3.2.5 of Joint Regulation No. 9473, inside Chapter 3.2 of the volume on permits for developments and businesses. It establishes the provisions applying to all proposals for siting authorised medical cannabis establishments — the premises specified in the permit application, owned or possessed by the owner and within which they are authorised to cultivate, manufacture, produce, dispense, distribute and research medical cannabis — and the physical plant design requirements, general and by establishment type. This guide is the permit and physical plant one; the patient’s registration, the card and what may be consumed come from Act 42-2017 and are covered by our medical cannabis guide.

The provisions apply to all proposals for siting authorised establishments. Final determinations, permits, licences, certifications, authorisations, renewals or any procedure relating to construction and use bearing on the permit required before building and operating a related business and the associated medical cannabis facilities in Puerto Rico is the exclusive jurisdiction of OGPe at central level, including use variances and construction consultations. Everything relating to issuing, denying, suspending and revoking any licence to operate any establishment — cultivation, manufacturing, dispensary, transport, laboratory and research — is the Medical Cannabis Regulatory Board’s jurisdiction. And Authorised Professionals may not evaluate or grant permits for medical cannabis facilities; they may only issue fire prevention certifications for operating such facilities.

• That the construction permit application contain a certification from a licensed engineer or licensed architect stating the plans or documents conform to applicable laws and regulations and meet the physical plant design requirements.Verified against the official source
• Filing a qualification map illustrating the establishment’s location and the distance to the nearest schools, certified by a licensed planner, surveyor, engineer or architect.Verified against the official source
• That the proposed establishment sit at least one hundred radial metres from a school.Verified against the official source
• Clearly identifying all limited access areas and illustrating them in a diagram showing walls, partitions, counters and all entry and exit areas, as well as all propagation, cultivation, manufacturing and public and restricted access areas.Verified against the official source
• Having a reception area for registering every qualified patient, companion and visitor, and a waste disposal and storage area under the applicable statutes, regulations and ordinances.Verified against the official source
• Using commercial-quality, not residential, locks at all entry and exit points, and having the infrastructure needed to install the security systems the JRCM requires.Verified against the official source
• Placing on the façade no more than two signs visible to the public identifying the establishment, under Chapter 8.7 on Signs and Advertisements.Verified against the official source

• A licensed engineer’s or licensed architect’s certification that the plans or documents conform to applicable laws and regulations and to the physical plant requirements.
• A qualification map with the establishment’s location and the distance to the nearest schools, certified by a licensed planner, surveyor, engineer or architect; and a detailed plan of the establishment.
• A diagram of the limited access areas showing walls, partitions, counters and all entry and exit areas, as well as the propagation, cultivation, manufacturing and public and restricted access areas.
• For a solvent-based concentrate manufacturer: a report from a licensed engineer or architect certifying that the equipment, the licensed establishments and the standard operating procedures comply with the regulation, the applicable building codes and other laws, and determining whether an exhaust system or fume duct must be installed in the production room.
• If the manufacturer makes a substantial change to its establishment: a licensed engineer’s report recertifying its standard operating procedures.

1. 1

   Step 1: Who decides what: central OGPe, the JRCM and the PA

   The regulation allocates competences bluntly, and it is worth being clear about before hiring anyone. Final determinations, permits, licences, certifications, authorisations, renewals or any procedure relating to construction and use bearing on the permit required before building and operating a related business and the associated medical cannabis facilities in Puerto Rico is the exclusive jurisdiction of OGPe at central level, including use variances and construction consultations. By contrast, everything relating to issuing, denying, suspending and revoking any licence to operate any establishment — cultivation, manufacturing, dispensary, transport, laboratory and research — is the Medical Cannabis Regulatory Board’s jurisdiction. And there is an express prohibition: Authorised Professionals may not evaluate or grant permits for medical cannabis facilities; they may only issue fire prevention certifications for operating such facilities. If your project sits in a hierarchy I-III autonomous municipality, the application is filed through the SUI and assigned to the municipality’s permit office, which forwards the file to OGPe within no more than ten days of the filing date.

2. 2

   Step 2: The hundred metres from a school

   Every construction permit application for a medical cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution or sale establishment must contain a certification from a licensed engineer or licensed architect that the plans or documents conform to applicable laws and regulations and meet the requirements the regulation lists. The first of those requirements is documentary and the second is about distance. A qualification map must be filed illustrating the establishment’s location and the distance to the nearest schools, certified by a licensed planner, surveyor, engineer or architect. And the proposed establishment shall sit at least one hundred radial metres from a school, measured — the text says — linearly from the boundary of the land or farm where the school sits to the structure where the dispensary sits. We reproduce that sentence as printed: it says "radial" and then "linearly" in the same breath, and resolving the tension is not ours to do.

3. 3

   Step 3: The physical plant that applies to all

   Beyond the distance, the regulation asks for a detailed plan of the establishment and a set of common conditions. All entry and exit areas to limited access areas must be clearly identified. The limited access areas or storeroom holding the medical cannabis or its derived products, and the area where required records are filed, shall have the internal infrastructure needed to install the required security and access control system. All limited access areas shall be clearly identified and illustrated in a diagram showing walls, partitions, counters and all entry and exit areas, and also showing all propagation, cultivation, manufacturing and public and restricted access areas. The establishment shall have a reception area for registering every qualified patient, companion and visitor, and a waste disposal and storage area under the applicable statutes, regulations and ordinances. It shall have the infrastructure needed to install the security system the JRCM requires. Every cultivation or shade-house facility shall be a limited access area, and outdoor or shade-house cultivation shall provide sufficient security measures to show outdoor areas are not easily accessible by unauthorised individuals. Commercial-quality, not residential, locks shall be used at all entry and exit points. And no more than two signs visible to the public identifying the establishment may be placed on the façade, under Chapter 8.7.

4. 4

   Step 4: Cultivation: block, concrete and the double fence

   Beyond the general requirements, every establishment cultivating medical cannabis must have identified limited access areas according to the cultivation method and economic model chosen: an administration area where the establishment’s records are stored; a cultivation area; an inventory storage area, isolated and with the internal infrastructure needed for the required security systems; an area with adequate refrigeration for perishable products; and a loading area. The inventory storage area’s construction materials must be block or concrete. And for outdoor cultivation there is a concrete and unusual demand: every establishment cultivating medical cannabis outdoors must be fenced with at least one double fence that does not allow the crop to be seen, leaving a space of three feet between each fence, with a minimum of twelve feet in height and security mechanisms on top of the fencing.

5. 5

   Step 5: Manufacturing: edibles, concentrates and the engineer’s report

   Every establishment manufacturing medical cannabis must have identified as limited access areas the administration area where records are stored, including those required by law or regulation; the manufacturing area; the inventory storage area, isolated and locked under security measures including physical or electronic locks; and the loading area. The inventory storage area’s construction materials must be block or concrete. Every manufacturer of edible cannabis-infused products must meet all related health and safety standards; hand-washing facilities must be located in the areas where infused products are prepared; and establishments must have adequate protection against insect entry. Every manufacturer producing concentrate, whatever the extraction method or category, must ensure the space where any concentrate is produced is a completely enclosed room, clearly designated in the establishment’s diagram. Cannabis, concentrates and infused products are prepared for transport in a limited access area, including the packaging and labelling area for shipping containers. And for solvent-based concentrate there are two reports: one from a licensed engineer or architect certifying that the equipment, the licensed establishments and the standard operating procedures comply with the regulation and applicable building codes, and determining whether an exhaust system or fume duct must be installed in the production room; and another, if the manufacturer makes a substantial change to its establishment, from a licensed engineer recertifying its standard operating procedures.

6. 6

   Step 6: Dispensary: two accesses, a vault and backup power

   Beyond the general requirements and applicable design parameters, every establishment dispensing medical cannabis must have at least two accesses and contain at least these separate areas: a general access area; an administration area where all the establishment’s records are stored and where the vault with the sales proceeds is kept; a vault area for storing medical cannabis or derived products; a dispensing area; and a loading area. The construction materials of the area housing the vault must be block or concrete. And it must have the capacity to keep operating if the electrical service is interrupted. The storage area for cannabis or an infused product is kept in a limited or restricted access area; all entry and exit areas to restricted access areas must be clearly identified; and the area storing the cannabis and the area where required records are filed must have the internal infrastructure needed to install security systems, as the JRCM requires. A detail from the source: the list of separate areas is numbered 1, 2, then jumps to 3 and from there to 5, with no fourth item; we reproduce the substance and flag the gap.

7. 7

   Step 7: Laboratory: a fixed structure and access control

   Every establishment carrying out medical cannabis laboratory quality testing must meet four requirements. Having a storeroom with the internal infrastructure needed to install the appropriate security systems, as the JRCM requires. Identifying the access-controlled areas and preventing unauthorised persons from accessing the restricted areas where testing is done and the laboratory’s storage area. Being located in a fixed structure offering adequate infrastructure to carry out analyses safely and meeting local, state and federal rules. And providing an area with adequate refrigeration for transporting and storing perishable products.

8. 8

   Step 8: The special districts evaluated ministerially

   The regulation acknowledges there are special districts with no equivalent in the Joint Regulation, and in them it allows certain establishments to be evaluated ministerially. It names them one by one. Cultivation centres: Districts E2, E5 and E6 of the Special Plan and Regulation for Redeveloping the Lands and Facilities of the Former Roosevelt Roads Naval Base; District RO-25C of the Culebra Territorial Plan; and District BO-00 of the Qualification Regulation of the Sectoral Plan for the Areas Adjacent to the Northeast Ecological Corridor Nature Reserve. Laboratory: District E5 of Roosevelt Roads. Manufacturing, production or distribution centres: Districts E5 and E6 of Roosevelt Roads; District CT-2 of the Río Piedras Integral Development and Rehabilitation Plan; and Districts BQ-00 and UM of the Northeast Ecological Corridor plan. Dispensaries: District M-3 of Roosevelt Roads; Districts ZU-G2, ZU-G3 and ZU-G4 of the Santurce Special Zoning Regulation; Districts CRE and CT of the Condado Special Zoning Regulation; Districts CT-1, CT-2 and CT-3 of the Río Piedras plan; and District UM of the Northeast Ecological Corridor plan. A note from the source: the text writes "BO-00" in one place and "BQ-00" in another for what appears to be the same district in the same plan; we reproduce both as printed and do not pick one.

Before OGPe at central level, which has exclusive jurisdiction over the final determinations, permits, licences, certifications, authorisations, renewals, use variances and construction consultations relating to these facilities’ construction and use. If the project sits in a hierarchy I-III autonomous municipality, the application is filed through the SUI and assigned to the municipality’s permit office, which forwards the file to OGPe within no more than ten days of filing. The licence to operate the establishment — cultivation, manufacturing, dispensary, transport, laboratory and research — is issued, denied, suspended and revoked by the Medical Cannabis Regulatory Board. And Authorised Professionals may only issue fire prevention certifications for operating these facilities.

• Hiring an Authorised Professional to process the permit: the regulation forbids it for these facilities.
• Confusing OGPe’s construction and use permit with the licence to operate, which the JRCM grants.
• Leasing premises less than one hundred radial metres from a school.
• Filing the application without the certified qualification map illustrating the distance to the nearest schools.
• Designing the inventory storeroom or the vault in materials other than block or concrete.
• Fitting residential locks at entry and exit points instead of commercial-quality ones.
• In outdoor cultivation, fencing with a single fence or without the three feet of separation and twelve feet of height.
• Placing more than two signs on the establishment’s façade.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos (OGPe)

  OGPe

  docs.pr.gov

• Permit Management Office

  ogpe

  ogpe.pr.gov

• Department of Health

  salud

  www.salud.pr.gov