Federal statutes allow some hemp products — which include less than 0.3% delta-9 THC — to be sold in stores, but a new New Jersey law restricts their sale. (Getty Images)
A group of hemp businesses is arguing a new state law banning the sale of hemp products in New Jersey stores without a license from the state’s cannabis agency will turn “farmers, business owners and consumers into criminals.”
Under the law, the groups argue, hemp will be effectively recriminalized, despite federal statutes allowing some hemp products — which are derived from cannabis and have less than 0.3% delta-9 THC — to be sold in stores.
The groups are asking a federal judge for a preliminary injunction to stop most of the law from going into effect. Attorney General Matt Platkin, Cannabis Regulatory Commission Chair Dianna Houenou, and state Agriculture Secretary Edward D. Wengryn are named as defendants.
Their suit comes roughly two weeks after Gov. Phil Murphy signed the controversial bill, crafted after lawmakers heard concerns from parents and others that minors could easily get their hands on hemp products.
Murphy expressed reservations about the bill, saying it could lead to uncertainty in the hemp industry. He noted one provision is so vaguely worded it could be interpreted as allowing the sale of hemp made out of the state.
But Murphy signed the bill anyway, saying it was important to ensure harmful chemicals and unregulated products stay out of the hands of children.
Now, businesses have until Oct. 12 — 30 days after the bill signing — to pull from their shelves all items containing hemp, like CBD lotions, hemp drinks, and delta-8 gummies. Under the new law, the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission will have about six months to establish new rules and guidelines on issuing licenses to retailers, though that doesn’t mean sales of hemp products will necessarily resume in six months.
The plaintiffs say that many businesses will be forced to close and lay off employees, potentially leading to thousands of lost jobs.
The groups suing the state agreed with Murphy’s criticism of the bill, stressing that last-minute changes made before it passed the Legislature impose a “dizzying maze of rules that are far too complicated for ordinary citizens to navigate.”
Under the law, businesses will suffer “immediate, irreparable financial harm,” they said.
New Jersey’s law will “drastically overhaul the regulatory environment” hemp products face and contradicts the federal 2018 Farm Bill that made hemp sales legal, the plaintiffs added.
The law could be in violation of the dormant commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution by criminalizing certain out-of-state products while allowing those same products to be produced in state. It may also violate the supremacy clause by changing the definition of hemp products to contradict the federal definition, they argue in the complaint.
The parties in the lawsuit include hemp retailers based in New Jersey, manufacturers from out of state who sell products to New Jersey retailers, and hemp-derived beverage businesses whose products are shipped to New Jersey.
While they want a judge to declare most of the new law void, they agree the section prohibiting the sale of hemp products to people under 21 years of age should remain intact.
Spokespeople for the Attorney General’s Office and the Cannabis Regulatory Commission declined to comment.
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