Is THCA legal in New Jersey? New Jersey hemp, CBD and kratom laws

The law in New Jersey

New Jersey rewrote its hemp law twice in two years. P.L.2024, c.73, approved on September 12, 2024, first moved intoxicating hemp products under the Cannabis Regulatory Commission and defined a hemp product by no more than 0.5 mg of total THC a serving and 2.5 mg a package. P.L.2025, c.215, approved on January 12, 2026 and in force the next day, repealed parts of that law and replaced its limits with the federal ones written into section 781 of Public Law 119-37.

The new definition in the Hemp Farming Act, N.J.S.A. 4:28-8, sets hemp at no more than 0.3 percent total THC, including THCA, on a dry weight basis. It leaves out any final product with cannabinoids the plant cannot make, cannabinoids synthesized or manufactured outside the plant, or more than 0.4 mg per container of total THC combined with cannabinoids of similar effect, as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services determines. Anything the definition leaves out, the act says, is marijuana or cannabis.

1. December 27, 2019The USDA approves New Jersey's hemp program under the Hemp Farming Act of August 2019.
2. September 12, 2024P.L.2024, c.73 is approved, the first law to put intoxicating hemp products under the Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
3. January 12, 2026P.L.2025, c.215 is approved, adopting the federal 0.4 mg per container line; it takes effect the next day.
4. April 13, 2026Selling hemp products over the limits becomes unlawful, and a $3.75 a gallon excise tax on hemp drinks begins.
5. November 13, 2026Licensed sales of intoxicating hemp beverages end; any sale now carries the act's penalties.
6. December 11, 2026The federal limit of 0.4 mg total THC per container begins.

THCA and delta-8

THCA counts toward both lines, so hemp flower or a product whose total THC runs past them falls outside hemp. The Cannabis Regulatory Commission's guidance says that from April 13, 2026 such flower and products are legally cannabis, that selling, making or distributing them without a cannabis license is unlawful except as the Hemp Farming Act allows, and that it encourages hemp growers to seek a cannabis cultivator or manufacturer license. Adult-use cannabis is sold under the cannabis law of 2021, P.L.2021, c.16, to consumers 21 and older.

That 2021 law, as amended in 2026, defines THC to include delta-8, delta-9, delta-10 and THCA, and any other cannabinoid except CBD that the Commission identifies as intoxicating. Section 8 of the 2025 act, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10f, has barred since April 13, 2026 selling any intermediate or final hemp product with synthesized cannabinoids or over the THC limits, and any cannabinoid product sold as hemp that exceeds the federal hemp THC level.

1. CBD Softgels Extra StrengthNeurogan$0.013/mg
2. CBD Isolate Gummies, 150mg, LemonLazarus Naturals$0.013/mg
3. Multicannabinoid OilNuLeaf Naturals$0.028/mg
4. CBD Oils 2000 mg: UnflavoredIrwin Naturals$0.034/mg
5. CBD Gummies with Melatonin for SleepCBDfx$0.037/mg
6. Lemonade Full Spectrum CBD Tincture, 1,500 mgMedRoots$0.040/mg

Age, online sales and penalties

Section 10 of the act, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10e, makes it unlawful to sell or give a product meant for human consumption that contains THC in any detectable amount to anyone under 21, with the same penalties as selling cannabis to someone under 21. Section 8 also bars selling any intoxicating hemp beverage or any hemp-derived cannabinoid product through online retail sale, and selling hemp drinks from a vending machine. The act defines a hemp-derived cannabinoid product as any product from hemp with cannabinoids meant for people or animals, whether inhaled, eaten or put on the skin. It does not say how the online ban applies to sellers outside New Jersey, and we found no regulation, Attorney General opinion or court ruling that settles it.

Under section 8 as amended by P.L.2026, c.7, approved on March 30, 2026, the civil penalties are no less than $100 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second and $10,000 for each later one, each day counting as a separate violation, on top of the criminal penalties for marijuana offenses. A business with more than two violations, or a third at one location within a year, is deemed a public nuisance, and its town may restrict or close it.

Hemp drinks

Until November 13, 2026, holders of an alcohol plenary wholesale or plenary retail distribution license, and Cannabis Regulatory Commission licensees, may sell intoxicating hemp beverages under section 11 of the 2025 act. Since May 31, 2026, under the 2026 amendment, each drink may hold no more than 5 mg of total THC a serving and 10 mg a container, and must come with a certificate of analysis from an independent laboratory registered with the DEA and accredited to ISO 17025. Selling one without it costs at least $100 a container.

From November 13, 2026, section 11 expires and a sale of an intoxicating hemp beverage by anyone carries the act's penalties. The Commission's guidance says a drink over 0.4 mg of total THC a container is then cannabis, made only by a licensed Class 2 manufacturer and sold only by a Class 5 retailer. Since April 13, 2026, the wholesale sale of hemp drinks has carried an excise tax of $3.75 a gallon.

CBD and hemp licenses

The Department of Agriculture runs the hemp program under the Hemp Farming Act of August 2019, and growers, processors and handlers apply to it each year. The 2025 act lets a licensed Class 5 cannabis retailer sell hemp-derived cannabinoid products meant for human consumption if they are labeled under Commission rules, and the Commission's guidance says those are flower or products under 0.3 percent THC and under 0.4 mg per container. We found no New Jersey statute that names CBD in food or sets a separate rule for it.

Kratom, kava, amanita and spores

No New Jersey law we found schedules or bans kratom or its compounds. The Senate Health Committee's statement on S301, dated March 16, 2026, says 7-hydroxymitragynine is not presently barred by New Jersey law. S301 would add it to Schedule I; the committee reported it that day and sent it to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, with no later action. A5359, an Assembly bill to the same end, was introduced on September 10, 2026. S829, called CJ's Law, would criminalize making, selling and possessing anything containing kratom; it has sat in the Senate Judiciary Committee since January 13, 2026. We found no New Jersey statute naming kava, amanita muscaria or mushroom spores.

The federal change on December 11

From December 11, 2026, the federal definition counts total THC including THCA and limits a finished hemp-derived cannabinoid product to 0.4 mg per container. Read the federal page and What's changing on December 11.