5440_I1.PDF (246.8 KB)
STATEMENT
10 This bill clarifies that modified, converted, or synthetically
11 derived intoxicating tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) isomers, and
12 specifically delta-8 THC, constitute THC for the purposes of the
13 State’s controlled dangerous substance (CDS) schedules.
14 Tetrahydrocannabinols are currently listed as a Schedule I CDS,
15 although industrial hemp and adult use cannabis are expressly
16 excluded from this classification. This bill clarifies the definitions
17 of “hemp” and “hemp product,” as used in the “New Jersey Hemp
18 Farming Act,” P.L.2019, c.238 (C.4:28-6 et al.), to specify that
19 hemp and hemp products may not contain more than a 0.3
20 concentration of delta-8 THC by weight.
21 Delta-8 THC occurs naturally in cannabis plants and can produce
22 many of the same symptoms as delta-9 THC, which is one of the
23 primary psychoactive compounds in cannabis and is the compound
24 most commonly associated with cannabis intoxication. However,
25 because delta-8 THC only naturally occurs in cannabis in small
26 quantities, it generally needs to be synthesized from cannabidiol
27 (CBD) or delta-9 THC to occur in quantities large enough to cause
28 intoxication. News reports suggest that manufacturers have been
29 exploiting loopholes in state and federal industrial hemp laws to
30 produce and market delta-8 THC.
31 This bill is intended to clarify that delta-8 THC is considered
32 illegal for the purposes of State law unless produced pursuant to the
33 “New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and
34 Marketplace Modernization Act,” P.L.2021, c.16 (C.24:6I-31 et al.).
