N.J.S.A. 4:28-8 — Definitions relative to hemp.

4:28-8 Definitions relative to hemp. 3. As used in sections 1 through 9 of P.L.2019, c.238 (C.4:28-6 et al.), unless the context otherwise requires: �Agent� means an employee or contractor of a hemp producer. �Applicant� means a person, or for a business entity, any person authorized to act on behalf of the business entity, who applies to the department to be a hemp producer in the State. �Commercial sale� means the sale of a product in the stream of commerce at retail, at wholesale, or on the Internet. �Container� means the innermost wrapping, packaging, or vessel in direct contact with a final hemp-derived cannabinoid product in which the final hemp-derived cannabinoid product is enclosed for retail sale to consumers, such as a jar, bottle, bag, box, packet, can, carton, or cartridge. �Container� excludes bulk shipping containers or outer wrappings that are not essential for the final retail delivery or sale to an end consumer for personal or household use. �Cultivate� means to plant, water, grow, or harvest a plant or crop. �Department� means the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. �Federally defined THC level for hemp� means the allowed tetrahydrocannabinol concentration for hemp as established pursuant to 7 U.S.C. s.1639o. �Final hemp-derived cannabinoid product� means a hemp-derived cannabinoid product which is in the final form or preparation marketed or intended to be used or consumed by a human or animal. �Handle� means to possess or store a hemp plant on premises owned, operated, or controlled by a hemp producer for any period of time or in a vehicle for any period of time other than during the actual transport of the plant between premises owned, operated, or controlled by hemp producers or persons or entities authorized to produce hemp pursuant to 7 U.S.C. s.1639o et seq. and any state law or rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto. �Handle� does not mean possession or storage of finished hemp-derived cannabinoid products. �Hemp� means the Cannabis sativa L. plant and any part of that plant, including the seeds of the plant and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a total tetrahydrocannabinol concentration, including tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. �Hemp� includes industrial hemp as such is defined pursuant to this section. Hemp does not include any of the following: (1) any viable seeds from a Cannabis sativa L. plant that exceeds a total tetrahydrocannabinol concentration, including tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, of 0.3 percent in the plant on a dry weight basis; (2) any intermediate hemp-derived cannabinoid product containing: (a) cannabinoids that are not capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant; (b) cannabinoids that are capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant, but were synthesized or manufactured outside the plant; or (c) more than 0.3 percent combined total of total tetrahydrocannabinol, including tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, with any other cannabinoids that have similar effects or are marketed to have similar effects on humans or animals as a tetrahydrocannabinol, as determined by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services; (3) any intermediate hemp-derived cannabinoid products which are marketed or sold as a final product or directly to an end consumer for personal or household use; or (4) any final hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing: (a) cannabinoids that are not capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant; (b) cannabinoids that are capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant, but were synthesized or manufactured outside the plant; or (c) greater than 0.4 milligrams combined total per container of total tetrahydrocannabinol, including tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, with any other cannabinoids that have similar effects or are marketed to have similar effects on humans or animals as a tetrahydrocannabinol, as determined by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. To the extent that the Cannabis sativa L. plant and any part of that plant, including the seeds of the plant and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, or any product or material is excluded from this definition of hemp, the excluded substance, product, or material shall be considered marijuana or cannabis, as determined by law. �Hemp-derived cannabinoid product� means any intermediate or final product derived from hemp, other than industrial hemp, that contains cannabinoids in any form and is intended for human or animal use through any means of application or administration, such as inhalation, ingestion, or topical application. �Hemp-derived cannabinoid product� does not include a drug that is the subject of an application approved under subsection c. or j. of section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. s.355. �Hemp producer� means a person or business entity authorized by the department to cultivate, handle, or process hemp in the State. �Industrial hemp� means hemp that is: grown for the use of the stalk of the plant, fiber produced from such a stalk, or any other non-cannabinoid derivative, mixture, preparation, or manufacture of such a stalk; grown for the use of the whole grain, oil, cake, nut, hull, or any other non-cannabinoid compound, derivative, mixture, preparation, or manufacture of the seeds of such plant; grown for purposes of producing microgreens or other edible hemp leaf products intended for human consumption that are derived from an immature hemp plant that is grown from seeds that do not exceed the federally defined THC level for hemp; a plant that does not enter the stream of commerce and is intended to support hemp research at an institution of higher education as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. s.1001, or an independent research institute; or grown for the use of a viable seed of the plant produced solely for the production or manufacture of any material described herein. �Intermediate hemp-derived cannabinoid product� means a hemp-derived cannabinoid product which is not yet in the final form or preparation marketed or intended to be used or consumed by a human or animal or is a powder, liquid, tablet, oil, or other product form which is intended or marketed to be mixed, dissolved, formulated, or otherwise added to or prepared with or into any other substance prior to administration or consumption. �Process� means to convert hemp into a marketable form. �Secretary� means the Secretary of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. �Transport� means the movement or shipment of hemp by a hemp producer, a person or entity authorized to produce hemp pursuant to 7 U.S.C. s.1639o et seq. and any state law or rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, or a hemp producer�s or authorized entity�s third-party carrier or agent. �Transport� shall not mean the movement or shipment of hemp-derived cannabinoid products. L.2019, c.238, s.3; amended 2024, c.73, s.1; 2025, c.215, s.1.

This is the verbatim text of N.J.S.A. 4:28-8, retrieved from the New Jersey Legislature's public statute corpus. Statutes are amended periodically — for the most current version, check the external source link above. Kyzer is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice.