Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday signed a contentious hemp law that had drawn applause from supporters who say it will crack down on dangerous unsanctioned products sold at gas stations and other places in New Jersey and has drawn scorn from those who say the measure is so restrictive it could also put legal hemp businesses out of business.
The law will essentially make it illegal to sell intoxicating hemp products in the state without a cannabis license and will put the products under the purview of the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission. Currently, the products are not regulated and, critics say, are too easily available to minors.
In signing the bill (S3235), Murphy said what the measure aims to accomplish outweighs the parts of the legislation that have been criticized. One of the flaws of the bill, the governor said, is that it allows places with alcohol stores to sell beverages that contain hemp without the same standards as cannabis stores. It will also put added responsibility on the cannabis commission to enforce additional regulation without additional money, he noted.
In the same way that Golden Retrievers and Labradors are both dogs, Hemp and cannabis are different plants, but the same species. Hemp products come from a plant that with a lower element of THC and is federally legal. Cannabis, a plant with higher amounts of THC is still federally banned.
The big selling point for hemp was that, unlike weed, it won’t get you high. But a loophole in the existing law actually had allowed intoxicating hemp products to be sold without a license.
“Because the bill would address this present danger, I have concluded that the wiser course is to sign the bill now and commit to working with the legislature to address the technical issues and other challenges in separate legislation,” Murphy said.
The potential danger was the impetus for the the bill.
“Today, New Jersey takes a major step to protect our children. The lack of regulation of intoxicating hemp products and beverages has helped fuel a rise in cannabis-related hospitalizations and poses a threat to the well-being of our communities,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex/Hudson). “Public health and safety should always be our top priority. We are grateful to Governor Murphy for taking swift action on this bill to get these products off of store shelves and implement responsible regulations.”
Although the hemp products and the public health detriment is real, the implementation of the law is questionable, said cannabis and hemp lobbyist Beau Huch.
“This law will decimate New Jersey’s emerging hemp industry by excessively limiting access for adults,” he said. “There’s no real long-term benefit to the cannabis industry and enforcement will be extremely difficult. It is throwing the good actors out with the bad.”
The measure has been cheered by cannabis businesses that have sunk millions of dollars into legitimate cannabis licenses.
“Licensed cannabis businesses in New Jersey have responsibly overseen the legal cannabis marketplace since its inception,” said New Jersey Cannabis Trade Association president Todd Johnson. “We commend the Legislature for extending these rigorous standards to intoxicating hemp-derived products.”
But critics of the bill stated that the threshold that defines products as intoxicating is so restrictive that it would essentially make a large portion of hemp products unsellable and is well above the threshold for what it takes for someone to actually be intoxicated — a point Murphy conceded in his statement.
Meanwhile, farmers that have already been licensed under the state’s hemp program have said that the new rules could leave them in limbo.
Additionally, it may be hard for hemp businesses to get a cannabis license and cannabis businesses require security and saferoom requirements that might not be feasible for the size of each location.
Also, cannabis licenses are not available in all New Jersey municipalities.
Municipalities can choose whether they want cannabis businesses within their town and currently the majority of towns statewide have opted out. Towns that have opted in can set their own rules about the types of businesses they want and whether they want to cap the number of cannabis businesses.
The law comes with new demands for the CRC, which has been criticized by state Senate President Nick Scutari, D-Union, who has often clashed with the commissioners and who has previously suggested diminishing the power of the commission.
The additional responsibilities the law puts upon the commission — and the fact that the mandate is such a specialized issue — may make it harder for Scutari to advance those arguments, said sourcesinside the commission not authorized to speak about the issue.
Among other additional concerns will be whether or not the agency is slated to receive more money to handle the increased responsibilities.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, one of the country’s largest weed markets, and an ally of Murphy’s on the Democratic Governor’s Association, recently issued an emergency ban on hemp products that drew similar criticism.
Jelani Gibson may be reached at jgibson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @jelanigibson1 and on LinkedIn.
The bill is meant to keep unregulated intoxicating hemp products away from kids, but critics allege it’s too strict and will also hurt farmers. Read More