An Act to Allow Experimentation in the Cultivation of Agricultural Hemp
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0053
Committee Amendment CA_A_H61 (House)
Amends: 17-A MRSA §1105-A, 17-A MRSA §1105-C, 17-A MRSA §1105-D, 17-A MRSA §1106, 17-A MRSA §1107-A, 17-A MRSA §1117

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,A" to H.P. 61, L.D. 53, Bill, "An Act 
to Allow Experimentation in the Cultivation of Agricultural Hemp" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting 
the following: 
'An Act To Allow Experimentation in the Cultivation of Industrial 
Hemp' 
Further amend the bill by striking out all of section 1. 
Further amend the bill by inserting after section 2 the 
following: 
'Sec.3. 17-AMRSA§1103,sub-§7 is enacted to read: 
7. 
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this 
section that the substance trafficked in is industrial hemp. 
Sec. 4. 17-A MRSA §1105-A, sub-§3 is enacted to read: 
3. 
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this 
section that the substance trafficked in is industrial hemp. 
Sec.5. 17-A MRSA §1105-C, sub-§3 is enacted to read: 
3. 
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this 
section that the substance furnished is industrial hemp. 
Sec.6. 17-A MRSA §1105-D, sub-§3 is enacted to read: 
Page I-LR01l4(2) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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to H.P. 61, L.D. 53 
3. 
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this 
section that the substance cultivated or grown is industrial hemp. 
Sec.7. 17-A MRSA §1106, sub-§6 is enacted to read: 
6. 
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this 
section that the substance furnished is industrial hemp. 
Sec. 8. 17-A MRSA §1107-A, sub-§3 is enacted to read: 
3. 
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this 
section that the substance possessed is industrial hemp. 
Sec. 9. 17-A MRSA §llll-A sub-§10 is enacted to read: 
10. 
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this 
section that the drug paraphernalia used or possessed is used or 
possessed for 
the propagation, 
cultivation or 
processing of 
industrial hemp. 
Sec. 10. 17-A MRSA §1117, sub-§3 is enacted to read: 
3. 
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this 
section that the substance cultivated or grown is industrial 
ruwm.....' 
Further amend the bill in section 3 by striking out all of 
the last sentence (page 1, lines 33 to 38 in L.D.) and inserting 
in its place the following: 
'Prior to undertaking a study and 
prior 
to 
importing 
any 
nonsterilized 
industrial 
hemp 
seeds 
capable 
of 
germination 
into 
the 
State, 
the 
director, 
in 
consultation with the Commissioner of Agriculture, Food and Rural 
Resources, shall obtain all federal permits needed to legally 
grow industrial hemp for fiber or seed production. ' 
Further amend the bill by relettering 
or 
section 
nonconsecutive 
consecutively. 
Part 
letter 
SUMMARY 
or renumbering 
number 
to 
any 
read 
This 
amendment 
revises 
the bill to make 
an affirmative 
defense to prosecution the fact that the substance possessed, 
furnished, trafficked in, cultivated or grown is industrial hemp, 
not marijuana. 
For an affirmative defense to be effective, the 
defendant must prove the affirmative defense by a preponderance 
of 
the 
evidence. 
Therefore, 
this 
amendment 
requires 
the 
defendant to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the 
substance the prosecution alleges to be marijuana is actually 
industrial hemp, as defined in the new language. 
Without this 
amendment, the prosecution would have to prove that the substance 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ~. to H.P. 61, L.D. 53 
was not industrial hemp in order to secure a conviction for a 
criminal marijuana violation. 
This amendment also clarifies that federal permits must be 
obtained prior to importing nonsterilized hemp seeds. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT