New JerseyS4509220th Legislature (2024-2025)SenateWALLET

Creates regulatory scheme, in line with federal law, on sale of certain hemp-derived cannabinoid products; repeals law concerning intoxicating hemp.*

Sponsored By: Robert J. Karabinchak (Democratic), M. Teresa Ruiz (Democratic), Nicholas P. Scutari (Democratic)

Signed by Governor

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

16 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 6 costs, 5 mixed.

Cannabis Products Get Dose And Packaging Safeguards

Required rules cap cannabis servings at 10 milligrams of active THC and individual edible products at 100 milligrams. Edibles without clearly marked or easily separated servings are limited to 10 milligrams per unit sold. Rules prohibit human, animal, or fruit shapes and require serving marks and cannabis symbols, with specified marking exceptions. Packaging must be opaque and child-resistant, except for immediate use in a permitted consumption area. Labels must show weight, production and expiration dates, applicable ingredients and allergens, THC, servings, source and batch details, and warnings including poison control. Branded food ingredients must be unrecognizable in the finished edible and cannot be advertised as ingredients.

Cannabis Businesses Face Inspections And Closure

The Commission may inspect or search licensed premises without notice or a warrant, investigate, and examine records. Workers unable to prove they are at least 18 may be ordered to stop work and leave until providing proof. Authorized officials may issue summonses and confiscate illegally sold products; Alcoholic Beverage Control also has hemp-beverage confiscation authority. Businesses with more than two violations, or a third violation at one location within one year, face municipal restrictions or closure. Penalties go to the state cannabis fund, split equally with the municipality when its official brings the case.

Hemp Drink Sellers Face Product Safeguards

Beginning April 13, 2026, authorized intoxicating hemp drinks cannot exceed 5 milligrams total THC per serving or 10 per container. Sales and distribution require a certificate from an independent laboratory meeting Commission standards, federal drug-enforcement registration, and ISO 17025 testing accreditation. Missing certificates or excessive THC trigger civil penalties of at least $100 per container. Covered alcohol-license sellers must keep drinks out of customer reach unless employees assist. Self-service requires conspicuous notices, active monitoring, employee confirmation of age 21 and purchase understanding, and compliance with additional alcohol-control rules.

Cannabis Retailers Face License Eligibility Checks

A retailer applicant needs at least one significantly involved person with two years of New Jersey residency when applying. Listed people with both a financial interest and decision-making power must be at least 21. Specified owners, directors, officers, and employees must cooperate with background checks; some small, noncontrolling investors are exempt. Certain cannabis convictions cannot count, and other convictions face offense, business-relationship, and five-year limits.

Hemp Drink Sales Get Temporary Authorization

Valid, unrevoked plenary wholesale or retail distribution license holders and Commission licensees may temporarily sell intoxicating hemp beverages. Beginning April 13, 2026, beverage sales, offers, and distribution face penalties unless covered by this authorization. Authorized sales continue through November 12, 2026, unless the specified federal-law change takes effect earlier. Beginning November 13, 2026, all such sales, offers, and distribution face the applicable prohibitions and penalties.

More Cannabis Business Licenses With Limits

The Cannabis Regulatory Commission must issue enough retailer licenses to meet demand when enough qualified applicants apply. At least 35% must be conditional licenses; at least 10% of all licenses and conditional licenses must serve microbusinesses. Licensing rules promote New Jersey residents, disadvantaged communities, and minority-, women-, and disabled-veteran-owned businesses. Applicants must meet age and applicable business-certification requirements, and the cultivator cap remains, with a microbusiness exception. Before applications open, the Commission must publicize and hold at least one application session in each county, considering population.

Cannabis Customers Gain Personal Data Protections

Cannabis retailers may require government ID to check a customer's identity and age. They cannot collect or keep personal information beyond what licensed alcohol retailers typically obtain in a financial transaction.

Cannabis Retailers Gain Products And Lounges

Retailers with valid, unrevoked cannabis retail licenses may also sell hemp-derived cannabinoid products for human consumption with required labels. A retailer with the required endorsement may operate one cannabis consumption area. It must be structurally enclosed and separate from indoor sales, or in an exterior structure on the same premises. Purchased cannabis transferred there is subject to Commission quantity limits.

Cannabis Ads Face Youth Exposure Limits

Cannabis advertising rules must bar targeting people under 21 and generally require an expected audience at least 50% age 21 or older. Event ads and sponsorships require evidence that no more than 20% of the audience is under 21. Ads are barred within 200 feet of school grounds, except inside cannabis retailers. Rules also require warnings, limit radio ads, and allow location-based phone marketing only in adult-installed apps with warnings and permanent opt-outs. Name-and-contact-only ads are exempt from warnings, and noncommercial messages are not covered.

Cannabis Buyers Get Independent Product Testing

Licensed growers and manufacturers must submit representative samples to independent licensed laboratories and report results to the Commission. Rules must provide enough testing facilities to finish sample testing within 14 days after submission. Failed batches may be retested or treated and retested within Commission deadlines; material that fails testing faces destruction. Growers and manufacturers must allow announced and unannounced sampling visits, and laboratories face inspections, accreditation, and labor-agreement requirements. Laboratory licenses must cover both adult-use and medical cannabis testing.

Cannabis Businesses Face Safety And Recordkeeping Duties

The Commission must set business rules for sanitation, production, ingredients, security, transport, employee training, and supervision. On-site use is limited to permitted consumption areas or designated private employee areas. Pesticide rules apply only when consistent with state and federal law. Growers must record production amounts, dates, and sales; establishments, distributors, and delivery services must keep required transaction records for four years. The Commission may examine those records with adequate notice and must establish audit and nonconforming-product disposal procedures.

Cannabis Stores Face Location And Sales Limits

Cannabis retailers cannot operate in or on premises running grocery stores, delicatessens, indoor food markets, or other food stores. They also cannot share premises with stores licensed to sell alcohol. Required Commission rules limit cannabis establishments' sales to cannabis items and cannabis-related tools, alongside the law's separate hemp-product authorization.

Larger Cannabis Stores Pay Higher Fees

The Commission must set application, license, and renewal fees for cannabis retailers. Retailer licenses require annual renewal, and larger premises must pay higher fees. The law does not state the fee amounts. Payments go to the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Fund.

New Wholesale Tax On Hemp Drinks

Beginning April 13, 2026, intoxicating hemp beverages carry a $3.75-per-gallon excise tax on New Jersey wholesale sales and covered deliveries. Revenue goes to the State General Fund. Retail prices may rise if sellers pass the tax on to customers.

Age Checks Limit Youth Cannabis Access

The law protects young people by banning sales or distribution of consumable products with any detectable THC to anyone under 21. Medical cannabis dispensed to registered qualifying patients under 21 remains exempt. Cannabis licensees must check approved photo ID before entry or sales, and cannabis businesses cannot employ anyone under 18. People under 21 generally need a parent or legal guardian to enter or remain in a retailer. That entry limit does not apply to the retailer's employees.

Tighter Hemp Definitions Preserve Lawful Trade

Hemp generally cannot exceed 0.3% total THC by dry weight, including tetrahydrocannabinolic acid. Specified seeds and synthetic cannabinoids are excluded, along with intermediates above 0.3% combined THC and similar-effect cannabinoids. Final products above 0.4 milligrams of those combined cannabinoids per container are also excluded and treated as marijuana or cannabis. THC includes delta-8, delta-9, delta-10, and similar compounds, but excludes cannabidiol; state officials can identify additional intoxicating cannabinoids. Qualifying hemp stays outside specified cannabis definitions, and federally authorized shipping and lawful New Jersey hemp production remain protected. Beginning January 13, 2026, the law also repeals four earlier hemp-law sections.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Cosponsors

Roy Freiman
Democratic • House

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 90 • No: 8

House vote • 12/22/2025

3RDG FINAL PASSAGE

Yes: 57 • No: 7 • Other: 6

Senate vote • 12/22/2025