N.J. Admin. Code § 2:25-2.2
Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024
Section 2:25-2.2 - Terms and conditions of licensure(a) All licenses shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance.(b) Any applicant who materially falsifies any information contained in an application shall be ineligible to participate in the Program as a hemp producer.(c) Any changes to hemp producer contact information must be provided to the Department within 10 days of the change.(d) Hemp producers shall comply with all applicable reporting and inspection requirements and any other provisions in this chapter.(e) Any person convicted of a felony relating to a controlled substance under State or Federal law before, on, or after the date of enactment of the Federal Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, Pub.L. 115-334 (2018 Farm Bill), shall be ineligible to participate in the Program during the 10-year period following the date of the conviction.(f) Applicants and other key participants must undergo a criminal background check by the New Jersey State Police, the results of which must be mailed directly to the Department. The felony conviction restriction under (e) above shall not apply to any person growing hemp lawfully with a license, registration, or authorization under a program authorized pursuant to 7 U.S.C. § 5940. before the date of enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill and the conviction occurred before December 20, 2018. (g) Any information provided to the Department by the hemp producer under the Program may be provided to law enforcement agencies without further notice to the hemp producer.(h) The hemp producer and its employees shall fully cooperate and assist the Department with all aspects of the administration and enforcement of the Program, including, but not limited to, the application, license, reporting, inspection, and sampling processes.(i) The hemp producer shall pay for any laboratory analysis costs that the Department deems necessary within 30 days of the date of the invoice. (j) The hemp producer shall submit all required reports by the applicable due dates specified by the Department. (k) A hemp producer must provide documentation to show that he or she has the legal right to cultivate hemp on the licensed area and the legal authority to grant the Department access for inspection and sampling. Applicants shall provide proof of authorization to engage in hemp production along with their application, including deeds, leasing agreements, written agreements by a landowner, or other appropriate documentation. (l) Licenses shall not be assigned or transferred to any other individual, business, or company under any circumstances.(m) No hemp plant shall be moved to, or grown, in an area other than the licensed growing area, without prior Departmental approval, and subject to a site modification fee pursuant to (r) below. All varieties must be separated and clearly marked.(n) Alterations to a licensed area that has already been approved and recorded by the Department shall require a site modification plan pursuant to (r) below. (o) No licensed area may contain cannabis plants or parts thereof that the hemp producer knows, or has reason to know, are of a variety that will produce a plant that, when tested, will produce hemp with a delta-9 THC concentration greater than the Federally defined THC level for hemp. No hemp producer shall use any such variety for any purpose associated with the cultivation of hemp.(p) All hemp plant material must be planted, grown, and harvested under a valid license. Any volunteer plants that emerge during a subsequent license year must either be destroyed or included on the subsequent year's license application.(q) Disposal and/or destruction shall be ordered by the Department of any materials or products licensed under the Program found to have a delta-9 THC content of more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, as measured from samples collected pursuant to the Program. The cost of disposal and/or destruction shall be the sole responsibility and cost of the hemp producer.(r) A hemp producer may alter the approved growing area if, at least 14 days prior to the proposed modification, the hemp producer shall submit a site modification plan, including: 1. An updated legal description of the land;2. Geospatial location, including GPS coordinates;3. Acreage or square feet of each variety planted;4. A map detailing the boundaries of the growing area(s); and 5. Pay a site modification fee of $ 300.00 plus $ 15.00 per acre. The fee shall not apply to storage-only sites, but the Department must approve such sites prior to use. In the event the site modification is not approved, this fee will be refunded.(s) Hemp may not be grown in an area other than the licensed area. This includes, but is not limited to, planting hemp in a field for which the geospatial location has not been approved by the Department or moving indoor-grown hemp to an outside location.(t) Transporting live hemp plants and hemp materials to unlicensed areas, including trade shows, county fairs, or educational or other events is prohibited.(u) Members of the public shall not have direct unsupervised access to hemp at any time.(v) Any person transporting hemp or hemp materials shall maintain, and provide upon request by law enforcement, proof of authorization to engage in the commercial sale of hemp, either under a state plan pursuant to 7 U.S.C. § 1639.p or the United States Department of Agriculture plan pursuant to 7 U.S.C. § 1639.q in a state where a state plan has not been approved from the producer of hemp, as well as a travel manifest that lists the origin, destination, product description, and date of transport. Third-party carriers are not required to be authorized hemp producers in order to transport hemp.(w) It is the responsibility of the hemp producer to understand and comply with all rules and regulations pertaining to their products and to obtain approval(s) from any other applicable local, State, or Federal authorities.N.J. Admin. Code § 2:25-2.2
Amended by 54 N.J.R. 903(a), effective 5/16/2022