An Act To Match the State's Definition of "Hemp" to the Definition in Federal Law
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0269
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: MIRAMANT, HICKMAN, JACKSON, ACKLEY, BERRY, FAULKINGHAM, MASTRACCIO, PLUECKER
Amends: 7 MRSA §2231, 17-A MRSA §1101, 17-A MRSA §1103, 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 §1111-A, 17-A MRSA §1117, 28-B MRSA §102

Legislative Document
No. 269
S.P. 81
In Senate, January 22, 2019
An Act To Match the State's Definition of "Hemp" to the Definition 
in Federal Law
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator MIRAMANT of Knox.
Cosponsored by Representative HICKMAN of Winthrop and
Senator: President JACKSON of Aroostook, Representatives: ACKLEY of Monmouth, 
BERRY of Bowdoinham, FAULKINGHAM of Winter Harbor, MASTRACCIO of Sanford, 
McCREIGHT of Harpswell, PLUECKER of Warren.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  7 MRSA §2231, as amended by PL 2015, c. 202, §1, is further amended to 
read:
§2231.  Hemp
1.  Definition.  As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, 
"industrial hemp" means any variety of the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that 
plant, including the seeds and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts 
and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol 
concentration that does not exceed of not more than 0.3% on a dry weight basis and that 
is grown or possessed by a licensed grower in compliance with this chapter.  As used in 
this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, "certified seed source" means a 
source of hemp seeds that are certified by a 3rd party as producing hemp having a delta-
9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed of not more than 0.3% on a 
dry weight basis.
2.  Growing permitted.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person may 
plant, grow, harvest, possess, process, sell and buy industrial hemp if that person holds a 
license issued pursuant to subsection 4.  A person licensed pursuant to subsection 4 may 
plant, grow and harvest only hemp that is grown from seeds acquired from a certified 
seed source.  A person licensed pursuant to subsection 4 may acquire hemp seeds directly 
from a certified seed source or from a hemp seed distributor licensed in this State 
distributing hemp seeds pursuant to subsection 2-A.
2-A.  Seed distribution.  The commissioner may issue a license for a hemp seed 
distributor if the hemp seeds distributed by the hemp seed distributor are from a certified 
seed source.  The commissioner may issue a license under this subsection to a holder of a 
seed labeling license pursuant to section 1044-A.
3.  Application.  A person desiring to grow industrial hemp for commercial purposes 
shall apply to the commissioner for a license on a form prescribed by the commissioner. 
The application must include the name and address of the applicant, the legal description 
of the land area to be used for the production of industrial hemp and a map, an aerial 
photograph or global positioning coordinates sufficient for locating the production fields.
4.  License issued.  Upon review and approval of an application, the commissioner 
shall notify the applicant and request that the application fee determined under subsection 
be submitted.  Upon receipt of the appropriate fee, the commissioner shall issue a 
license, which is valid for a period of one year and only for the site or sites specified in 
the license.
6.  Rules.  The commissioner shall adopt rules to establish an application fee, a 
license fee, per acre fees for monitoring, sampling and testing and guidelines for 
monitoring the growth and harvest of industrial hemp. Rules adopted pursuant to this 
subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
7.  Fees.  The commissioner shall establish through rulemaking under subsection 6 an 
application fee, a license fee and per acre fees for monitoring, sampling and testing that 
are reasonable and necessary to cover the costs of the department.  The application fee 
must be no less than $50 and no more than $100, the license fee must be no less than 
$100 and no more than $500, and the fees for monitoring, sampling and testing must be 
no less than $1 per acre and no more than $100 per acre.
All fees received pursuant to this subsection must be paid to the Treasurer of State and 
credited to a separate, nonlapsing account in the department.  Money received pursuant to 
this subsection must be used for the expenses of administering this chapter.
Sec. 2.  17-A MRSA §1101, sub-§22, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 61, §1, is 
amended to read:
22.    "Industrial hemp Hemp" means any variety of the plant Cannabis sativa L. and 
any part of that plant, including the seeds and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, 
isomers, acids, salts and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9-
tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed of not more than 0.3% on a dry 
weight basis and that is grown under a federal permit in compliance with the conditions 
of that permit.
Sec. 3.  17-A MRSA §1103, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 61, §2, is amended 
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, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 61, §3, is 
amended 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, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 61, §4, is 
amended 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, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 61, §5, is 
amended to read:
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, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 346, Pt. B, 
§1, is amended to read:
A.  Industrial hemp Hemp; or
Sec. 8.  17-A MRSA §1107-A, sub-§3, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 430, §4 
and affected by §10, is amended to read:
A.    The substance possessed is industrial hemp; or
Sec. 9.  17-A MRSA §1107-A, sub-§5, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 346, Pt. B, 
§2, is amended to read:
A.  Industrial hemp Hemp; or
Sec. 10.  17-A MRSA §1111-A, sub-§10, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 61, §8, is 
amended 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. 11.  17-A MRSA §1117, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 61, §9, is 
amended to read:
3.    It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the substance 
cultivated or grown is industrial hemp.
Sec. 12.  28-B MRSA §102, sub-§27, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 409, Pt. A, §6, is 
amended to read:
27.  Marijuana.  "Marijuana" means the leaves, stems, flowers and seeds of a 
marijuana plant, whether growing or not.  "Marijuana" includes marijuana concentrate but 
does not include industrial hemp as defined in Title 7, section 2231, subsection 1 or a 
marijuana product.
SUMMARY
This bill changes the term in Maine law "industrial hemp" to "hemp" and defines 
"hemp" to match the definition of "hemp" in the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 
2018.