Bill Text: NJ A2719 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Allows industrial hemp farming; establishes industrial hemp license.*

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-12-17 - Assembly Substitution (Gusciora) [A2719 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2014-A2719-Introduced.html

ASSEMBLY, No. 2719

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

216th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 24, 2014

 


 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  REED GUSCIORA

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Provides for industrial hemp farming.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


An Act concerning industrial hemp and supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    a.  As used in this act, "industrial hemp" means an agricultural product that is any variety of Cannabis sativa L. with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of 0.3% or less on a dry weight basis.

     b.  Notwithstanding any other law, or rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, to the contrary, a person may plant, grow, harvest, possess, process, distribute, buy, or sell industrial hemp in the State, provided the person complies with the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act.

 

     2.  a.  In consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Agriculture shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations providing for the administrative and enforcement responsibilities of the Department of Agriculture pursuant to this act, including, but not necessarily limited to:

     (1)   establishment of approved varieties of industrial hemp and methods to distinguish it from any type of marijuana;

     (2)   protocols for testing plant parts during growth for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol;

     (3)   guidelines for monitoring the growth and harvest of industrial hemp;

     (4)   penalties necessary for the administration and enforcement of this act; and

     (5)   any other issues required to implement this act.

     b.    The Secretary of Agriculture may defer to the Attorney General rulemaking on any of the issues enumerated above if they determine in the interest of public safety, that the issue is better addressed by the Department of Law and Public Safety than by the Department of Agriculture.

     c.     When developing and adopting rules and regulations pursuant to this section, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Attorney General shall work together and in cooperation with federal authorities to ensure that:

     (1)   no marijuana with value as a controlled substance regulated under the federal Controlled Substances Act, 21 United States Code, Section 802 (16), or for use as medical marijuana in the State, is planted, grown, harvested, possessed, processed, bought, or sold pursuant to this act; and

     (2)   the Drug Enforcement Administration in the United States Department of Justice may enforce the laws of the United States restricting the planting, growth, harvesting, possession, processing, purchase, and sale of plants, seeds, and related byproducts with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of more than 0.3% on a dry weight basis.

 

     3.  a.  Annually, at the time required under the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act, each person planting, growing, harvesting, processing, distributing, or selling industrial hemp, or possessing industrial hemp for any such purposes, shall:

     (1)  file with the Secretary of Agriculture documentation indicating that the industrial hemp is a type and variety of hemp approved by the secretary as having a concentration of no more than 0.3% delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol by dry weight; and

     (2)   notify the Secretary of Agriculture and the Attorney General of any sale or distribution of industrial hemp and the name and address of each person to whom the industrial hemp was sold or distributed during the calendar year.

     b.  Any person violating this act shall be subject to penalties established pursuant to section 2 of this act or pursuant to other applicable State and federal laws.

 

     4.    This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill establishes that any person may plant, grow, harvest, possess, process, distribute, buy, or sell industrial hemp in the State provided the person complies with the Department of Agriculture or Attorney General's rules and regulations adopted pursuant to section 2 of the bill.  The bill defines industrial hemp as an agricultural product that is any variety of Cannabis sativa L. with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of 0.3% or less on a dry weight basis.  As an agricultural product, the production of industrial hemp would be subject to the protections of the "Right to Farm Act," P.L.1983, c.31 (C.4:1C-1 et al.) and the land used for its production eligible for valuation and taxation pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.)

     The bill also requires any person planting, growing, harvesting, processing, buying, and selling industrial hemp, and possessing industrial hemp for these purposes to:

     1) file with the Secretary of Agriculture documentation indicating that the industrial hemp is a type and variety of hemp approved by the secretary as having a concentration of no more than 0.3% delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol by dry weight; and

     2) notify the Secretary of Agriculture and the Attorney General of any sale or distribution of industrial hemp by the person and the name and address of each person to whom the industrial hemp was sold or distributed during the calendar year.

     Finally, the bill provides for penalties for violating the bill's provisions, to be set forth in the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to section 2 of the bill.

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