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Panel splits on who should regulate hemp‑derived consumables as committee hears hours of testimony
Summary
Lawmakers heard competing proposals for regulating hemp‑derived consumable products and beverages: industry groups urged ABC/title 33 oversight and excise taxation for beverages, hemp farmers and Department of Agriculture advocates sought an agricultural‑centric licensing structure, and cannabis trade groups warned of regulatory conflicts and risks to public safety.
Assembly Bill 5 0 6 8 drew a long panel of witnesses representing wholesalers, brewers, liquor retailers, hemp farmers, licensed manufacturers and cannabis industry groups as the Assembly Commerce Committee began consideration of a licensing framework for hemp‑derived consumables and beverages.
Jeff Warsh of the wine and spirits wholesalers testified that hemp beverages should be integrated into Title 33 and regulated by the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control so existing distribution infrastructure, enforcement investigators and reporting systems can be used. "This is what we do," Warsh said, arguing ABC’s enforcement regime provides stronger leverage than the current cannabis framework and recommending an excise tax be applied to hemp beverages.
Brewers and convenience‑store representatives urged clarity that breweries can produce hemp beverages on premise and that small retailers receive clear testing, labeling and packaging rules. Advocates for small hemp retailers and licensed farmers said the bill would create necessary retail and distribution license tiers and finally give licensed hemp businesses a path to market after enforcement gaps left unregulated products in the supply chain.
Opponents from the licensed cannabis sector, including the New Jersey Cannabis Trade Association, urged caution and opposed shifting intoxicating hemp into a lighter regulatory system, saying the Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) already has a framework for THC products and that bifurcating regulation risks a two‑tier market and safety gaps. Todd Johnson (NJCTA) told the committee the earlier hemp bill and recent court actions had established a CRC role and that creating a parallel regime could undermine public safety and municipal control.
Licensed hemp farmers and small manufacturers told the committee they are economically stressed by an unclear market and by out‑of‑state products that enter local retail channels; a licensed grower said he has been unable to legally sell product since October because of classification differences between full‑spectrum hemp products and newly defined "intoxicating" thresholds.
Kristen Goede of Trichome Analytical, an ISO‑accredited testing laboratory, urged policy that keeps federally compliant hemp under Department of Agriculture oversight, expands testing and distribution licensing within that framework, and avoids opening backdoors that would let out‑of‑state or synthetically derived distillates enter regulated marketplaces.
Committee leaders acknowledged the divergent views and asked sponsors to continue drafting and negotiating amendments to address taxation, license tiers, testing standards, child‑safety packaging and enforcement. No final vote was taken on A5068 at this meeting; the committee said it would continue to refine the bill based on stakeholder input.
