LB 316 — Prohibit conduct relating to hemp other than cannabidiol products and change provisions of the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act and the Uniform Controlled Substances Act

-3- LB316 LB316 2025 (11) (6) USDA means the United States Department of Agriculture;

and (12) (7) USDA-licensed hemp producer means a person licensed by the USDA to produce hemp as provided in 7 C.F.R.

part 990, subpart C, as such regulations existed on January 1, 2024, and includes the authorized employees or agents of such person.

Sec.

3.

(1) Beginning January 1, 2026, an excise tax shall be levied on the retail sale of cannabidiol products to consumers.

The tax shall be at a rate of ten percent of the retail purchase price.

(2) The excise tax imposed by this section shall be in addition to all other occupation or privilege taxes imposed by this state or by any political subdivision of the state.

(3) Each retail seller of cannabidiol products shall maintain complete and accurate electronic records of sales of cannabidiol products, in the manner prescribed by the Department of Revenue.

Such seller shall provide such records to the department upon request.

(4)(a) Each retail seller of cannabidiol products shall file a return with the department by the twentieth day of the month following the month reported and with the report shall remit the amount of excise tax due.

(b) The return, which shall be upon forms prescribed and furnished by the department, shall contain, among other things, the total amount of cannabidiol products sold or transferred during the preceding month and the amount of tax due thereon.

(c) The department may require retail sellers to file tax returns electronically and to remit payments due by electronic funds transfers.

(5) The department shall collect the excise tax and shall account for and remit to the State Treasurer at least once each month all money collected pursuant to such tax for credit to the Property Tax Credit Cash Fund.

Sec.

4.

Section 2-505, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024, is amended to read:

-4- LB316 LB316 2025 2-505 (1)(a) This subsection applies to hemp other than cannabidiol products.

(b) Hemp shall not be cultivated, possessed, handled, transported, processed, used, sold, or consumed in this state, except as provided in this subsection.

(c) Federally compliant hemp (1) Hemp may be cultivated in this state by a USDA-licensed hemp producer, in accordance with such producer's USDA-issued license, or by a state-program-licensed hemp producer, in accordance with such producer's license under a USDA- approved tribal program.

(d) (2) Hemp may only be transported pursuant to section 2-515.

(2) Any cannabidiol product shall be possessed, handled, transported, used, sold, and consumed in accordance with:

(a) The Nebraska Pure Food Act;

and (b) The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C.

301 et seq., and any regulations adopted and promulgated under such act, as such act and regulations existed on January 1, 2025.

(3)(a) For purposes of this subsection:

(i) Consumer safe harbor period means the period of time beginning on the effective date of this act and ending on December 31, 2025;

and (ii) Illegal hemp means hemp, hemp products, or cannabidiol products that do not comply with the THC limits provided in subdivision (5)(a) of section 2-503 or, except as provided in subdivision (3)(d) of this section, that are otherwise not lawful under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act.

(b) An individual consumer shall not be subject to prosecution for possession of illegal hemp during the consumer safe harbor period.

(c) The Attorney General may coordinate with law enforcement agencies to establish appropriate locations where, during the consumer safe harbor period, consumers may drop off illegal hemp for destruction without prosecution for transporting or handling such illegal hemp for -5- LB316 LB316 2025 destruction.

(d) This subsection does not prevent prosecution for the cultivation, possession, handling, transportation, processing, use, sale, or other distribution of raw materials or products with a delta-9 THC concentration of more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.

Sec.

5.

Section 2-515, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024, is amended to read:

2-515 (1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, any USDA-licensed hemp producer or state-program-licensed hemp producer transporting hemp shall carry with the hemp being transported a copy of the USDA license or state program license under which it was cultivated and a copy of the test results pertaining to each lot of hemp being transported.

(2) A USDA-licensed hemp producer or state-program-licensed hemp producer under a USDA-approved tribal program cultivating hemp in this state shall maintain a record of shipments of hemp shipped from or received by such producer.

Such record shall, for each shipment of hemp, indicate the date of shipment, identify the point of origin and destination, identify the name of the person sending and receiving the shipment, and include the vehicle identification number of the vehicle transporting the hemp.

(3) Any USDA-licensed hemp producer or state-program-licensed hemp producer transporting hemp cultivated under such producer's USDA license or state program license shall not be required to carry a copy of the test results relating to such hemp as provided in subsection (1) of this section if such producer carries with the hemp being transported a copy of the applicable USDA license or state program license and is transporting:

(a) Hemp between two registered sites listed on the producer's USDA or state program license application;

(b) Samples of hemp for testing to determine the -6- LB316 LB316 2025 tetrahydrocannabinol level;

or (c) Live hemp plants to a registered site listed on the producer's USDA or state program license application prior to cultivating such hemp plants.

(4) Federally compliant hemp may be transported in interstate commerce for any lawful purpose (4) Any person who is carrying or transporting hemp who is not a USDA-licensed hemp producer or state- program-licensed hemp producer shall only carry or transport hemp if such hemp meets the following requirements:

(a) The hemp is carried or transported with a bill of lading stating the owner of the hemp, the point of origin of the hemp, and the destination of the hemp;

and (b) The hemp is carried or transported with a copy of the valid USDA or state program license under which the hemp was cultivated;

(c) The hemp is carried or transported with a copy of the test results pertaining to each lot of hemp being transported;

and (b) (d) The hemp is not unloaded or in any way removed from the vehicle transporting such hemp unless authorized by state or federal law enforcement.

(5) No person shall transport or carry hemp in this state concurrently with any other plant material that is not hemp.

Sec.

6.

Section 28-401, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024, is amended to read:

28-401 As used in the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) Administer means to directly apply a controlled substance by injection, inhalation, ingestion, or any other means to the body of a patient or research subject;

(2) Agent means an authorized person who acts on behalf of or at the direction of another person but does not include a common or contract carrier, public warehouse keeper, or employee of a carrier or warehouse -7- LB316 LB316 2025 keeper;

(3) Administration means the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States Department of Justice;

(4) Controlled substance means a drug, biological, substance, or immediate precursor in Schedules I through V of section 28-405.

Controlled substance does not include distilled spirits, wine, malt beverages, tobacco, hemp, or any nonnarcotic substance if such substance may, under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C.

301 et seq., as such act existed on January 1, 2014, and the law of this state, be lawfully sold over the counter without a prescription;

(5) Counterfeit substance means a controlled substance which, or the container or labeling of which, without authorization, bears the trademark, trade name, or other identifying mark, imprint, number, or device, or any likeness thereof, of a manufacturer, distributor, or dispenser other than the person or persons who in fact manufactured, distributed, or dispensed such substance and which thereby falsely purports or is represented to be the product of, or to have been distributed by, such other manufacturer, distributor, or dispenser;

(6) Department means the Department of Health and Human Services;

(7) Division of Drug Control means the personnel of the Nebraska State Patrol who are assigned to enforce the Uniform Controlled Substances Act;

(8) Dispense means to deliver a controlled substance to an ultimate user or a research subject pursuant to a medical order issued by a practitioner authorized to prescribe, including the packaging, labeling, or compounding necessary to prepare the controlled substance for such delivery;

(9) Distribute means to deliver other than by administering or dispensing a controlled substance;

(10) Prescribe means to issue a medical order;

(11) Drug means (a) articles recognized in the official United -8- LB316 LB316 2025 States Pharmacopoeia, official Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, official National Formulary, or any supplement to any of them, (b) substances intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in human beings or animals, and (c) substances intended for use as a component of any article specified in subdivision (a) or (b) of this subdivision, but does not include devices or their components, parts, or accessories;

(12) Deliver or delivery means the actual, constructive, or attempted transfer from one person to another of a controlled substance, whether or not there is an agency relationship;

(13) Hemp has the same meaning as in section 2-503;

(14)(a) Marijuana means all parts of the plant of the genus cannabis, whether growing or not, the seeds thereof, and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant or its seeds.

(b) Marijuana does not include:

(i) The the mature stalks of such plant;

, (ii) Hashish;

(iii) Tetrahydrocannabinols hashish, tetrahydrocannabinols extracted or isolated from the plant;

, (iv) Fiber fiber produced from such stalks;

, (v) Oil oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant;

, (vi) Any any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks;

, (vii) The the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination;

or , or (viii) Cannabidiol cannabidiol contained in a drug product approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration.

(c) Marijuana includes does not include hemp, except for hemp possessed in compliance with the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act.

(d) When the weight of marijuana is referred to in the Uniform -9- LB316 LB316 2025 Controlled Substances Act, it means its weight at or about the time it is seized or otherwise comes into the possession of law enforcement authorities, whether cured or uncured at that time;

(15) Manufacture means the production, preparation, propagation, conversion, or processing of a controlled substance, either directly or indirectly, by extraction from substances of natural origin, independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis, and includes any packaging or repackaging of the substance or labeling or relabeling of its container.

Manufacture does not include the preparation or compounding of a controlled substance by an individual for his or her own use, except for the preparation or compounding of components or ingredients used for or intended to be used for the manufacture of methamphetamine, or the preparation, compounding, conversion, packaging, or labeling of a controlled substance:

(a) By a practitioner as an incident to his or her prescribing, administering, or dispensing of a controlled substance in the course of his or her professional practice;

or (b) by a practitioner, or by his or her authorized agent under his or her supervision, for the purpose of, or as an incident to, research, teaching, or chemical analysis and not for sale;

(16) Narcotic drug means any of the following, whether produced directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of vegetable origin, independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis:

(a) Opium, opium poppy and poppy straw, coca leaves, and opiates;

(b) a compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, or preparation of opium, coca leaves, or opiates;

or (c) a substance and any compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, or preparation thereof which is chemically equivalent to or identical with any of the substances referred to in subdivisions (a) and (b) of this subdivision, except that the words narcotic drug as used in the Uniform Controlled Substances Act does not include decocainized coca leaves or extracts of -10- LB316 LB316 2025 coca leaves, which extracts do not contain cocaine or ecgonine, or isoquinoline alkaloids of opium;

(17) Opiate means any substance having an addiction-forming or addiction-sustaining liability similar to morphine or being capable of conversion into a drug having such addiction-forming or addiction- sustaining liability.

Opiate does not include the dextrorotatory isomer of 3-methoxy-n methylmorphinan and its salts.

Opiate includes its racemic and levorotatory forms;

(18) Opium poppy means the plant of the species Papaver somniferum L., except the seeds thereof;

(19) Poppy straw means all parts, except the seeds, of the opium poppy after mowing;

(20) Person means any corporation, association, partnership, limited liability company, or one or more persons;

(21) Practitioner means a physician, a physician assistant, a dentist, a veterinarian, a pharmacist, a podiatrist, an optometrist, a certified nurse midwife, a certified registered nurse anesthetist, a nurse practitioner, a scientific investigator, a pharmacy, a hospital, or any other person licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted to distribute, dispense, prescribe, conduct research with respect to, or administer a controlled substance in the course of practice or research in this state, including an emergency medical service as defined in section 38-1207;

(22) Production includes the manufacture, planting, cultivation, or harvesting of a controlled substance;

(23) Immediate precursor means a substance which is the principal compound commonly used or produced primarily for use and which is an immediate chemical intermediary used or likely to be used in the manufacture of a controlled substance, the control of which is necessary to prevent, curtail, or limit such manufacture;

(24) State means the State of Nebraska;

-11- LB316 LB316 2025 (25) Ultimate user means a person who lawfully possesses a controlled substance for his or her own use, for the use of a member of his or her household, or for administration to an animal owned by him or her or by a member of his or her household;

(26) Hospital has the same meaning as in section 71-419;

(27) Cooperating individual means any person, other than a commissioned law enforcement officer, who acts on behalf of, at the request of, or as agent for a law enforcement agency for the purpose of gathering or obtaining evidence of offenses punishable under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act;

(28) Cannabidiol product has the same meaning as in section 2-503;

(29)(a) (28)(a) Hashish or concentrated cannabis means (i) the separated resin, whether crude or purified, obtained from a plant of the genus cannabis or (ii) any material, preparation, mixture, compound, or other substance which contains ten percent or more by weight of tetrahydrocannabinols.

(b) When resins extracted from hemp as defined in section 2-503 are in the possession of a person as authorized under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, they are not considered hashish or concentrated cannabis for purposes of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.

(c) Hashish or concentrated cannabis does not include any cannabidiol product or cannabidiol contained in a drug product approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration;

(30) (29) Exceptionally hazardous drug means (a) a narcotic drug, (b) thiophene analog of phencyclidine, (c) phencyclidine, (d) amobarbital, (e) secobarbital, (f) pentobarbital, (g) amphetamine, or (h) methamphetamine;

(31) (30) Imitation controlled substance means a substance which is not a controlled substance or controlled substance analogue but which, by way of express or implied representations and consideration of other relevant factors including those specified in section 28-445, would lead -12- LB316 LB316 2025 a reasonable person to believe the substance is a controlled substance or controlled substance analogue.

A placebo or registered investigational drug manufactured, distributed, possessed, or delivered in the ordinary course of practice or research by a health care professional shall not be deemed to be an imitation controlled substance;

(32)(a) (31)(a) Controlled substance analogue means a substance (i) the chemical structure of which is substantially similar to the chemical structure of a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance as provided in section 28-405 or (ii) which has a stimulant, depressant, analgesic, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system that is substantially similar to or greater than the stimulant, depressant, analgesic, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system of a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance as provided in section 28-405.

A controlled substance analogue shall, to the extent intended for human consumption, be treated as a controlled substance under Schedule I of section 28-405 for purposes of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act;

and (b) Controlled substance analogue does not include (i) a controlled substance, (ii) any substance generally recognized as safe and effective within the meaning of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C.

301 et seq., as such act existed on January 1, 2014, (iii) any substance for which there is an approved new drug application, or (iv) with respect to a particular person, any substance if an exemption is in effect for investigational use for that person, under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C.

355, as such section existed on January 1, 2014, to the extent conduct with respect to such substance is pursuant to such exemption;

(33) (32) Anabolic steroid means any drug or hormonal substance, chemically and pharmacologically related to testosterone (other than estrogens, progestins, and corticosteroids), that promotes muscle growth and includes any controlled substance in Schedule III(d) of section -13- LB316 LB316 2025 28-405.

Anabolic steroid does not include any anabolic steroid which is expressly intended for administration through implants to cattle or other nonhuman species and has been approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services for such administration, but if any person prescribes, dispenses, or distributes such a steroid for human use, such person shall be considered to have prescribed, dispensed, or distributed an anabolic steroid within the meaning of this subdivision;

(34) (33) Chart order means an order for a controlled substance issued by a practitioner for a patient who is in the hospital where the chart is stored or for a patient receiving detoxification treatment or maintenance treatment pursuant to section 28-412.

Chart order does not include a prescription;

(35) (34) Medical order means a prescription, a chart order, or an order for pharmaceutical care issued by a practitioner;

(36) (35) Prescription means an order for a controlled substance issued by a practitioner.

Prescription does not include a chart order;

(37) (36) Registrant means any person who has a controlled substances registration issued by the state or the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States Department of Justice;

(38) (37) Reverse distributor means a person whose primary function is to act as an agent for a pharmacy, wholesaler, manufacturer, or other entity by receiving, inventorying, and managing the disposition of outdated, expired, or otherwise nonsaleable controlled substances;

(39) (38) Signature means the name, word, or mark of a person written in his or her own hand with the intent to authenticate a writing or other form of communication or a digital signature which complies with section 86-611 or an electronic signature;

(40) (39) Facsimile means a copy generated by a system that encodes a document or photograph into electrical signals, transmits those signals over telecommunications lines, and reconstructs the signals to create an exact duplicate of the original document at the receiving end;

-14- LB316 LB316 2025 (41) (40) Electronic signature has the definition found in section 86-621;

(42) (41) Electronic transmission means transmission of information in electronic form.

Electronic transmission includes computer-to-computer transmission or computer-to-facsimile transmission;

(43) (42) Long-term care facility means an intermediate care facility, an intermediate care facility for persons with developmental disabilities, a long-term care hospital, a mental health substance use treatment center, a nursing facility, or a skilled nursing facility, as such terms are defined in the Health Care Facility Licensure Act;

(44) (43) Compounding has the same meaning as in section 38-2811;

(45) (44) Cannabinoid receptor agonist means any chemical compound or substance that, according to scientific or medical research, study, testing, or analysis, demonstrates the presence of binding activity at one or more of the CB1 or CB2 cell membrane receptors located within the human body.

Cannabinoid receptor agonist does not include any cannabidiol product or cannabidiol contained in a drug product approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration;

and (46) (45) Lookalike substance means a product or substance, not specifically designated as a controlled substance in section 28-405, that is either portrayed in such a manner by a person to lead another person to reasonably believe that it produces effects on the human body that replicate, mimic, or are intended to simulate the effects produced by a controlled substance or that possesses one or more of the following indicia or characteristics:

(a) The packaging or labeling of the product or substance suggests that the user will achieve euphoria, hallucination, mood enhancement, stimulation, or another effect on the human body that replicates or mimics those produced by a controlled substance;

(b) The name or packaging of the product or substance uses images or labels suggesting that it is a controlled substance or produces effects -15- LB316 LB316 2025 on the human body that replicate or mimic those produced by a controlled substance;

(c) The product or substance is marketed or advertised for a particular use or purpose and the cost of the product or substance is disproportionately higher than other products or substances marketed or advertised for the same or similar use or purpose;

(d) The packaging or label on the product or substance contains words or markings that state or suggest that the product or substance is in compliance with state and federal laws regulating controlled substances;

(e) The owner or person in control of the product or substance uses evasive tactics or actions to avoid detection or inspection of the product or substance by law enforcement authorities;

(f) The owner or person in control of the product or substance makes a verbal or written statement suggesting or implying that the product or substance is a synthetic drug or that consumption of the product or substance will replicate or mimic effects on the human body to those effects commonly produced through use or consumption of a controlled substance;

(g) The owner or person in control of the product or substance makes a verbal or written statement to a prospective customer, buyer, or recipient of the product or substance implying that the product or substance may be resold for profit;

or (h) The product or substance contains a chemical or chemical compound that does not have a legitimate relationship to the use or purpose claimed by the seller, distributor, packer, or manufacturer of the product or substance or indicated by the product name, appearing on the product's packaging or label or depicted in advertisement of the product or substance.

Sec.

7.

Original sections 2-501, 2-503, 2-505, 2-515, and 28-401, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024, are repealed.

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