Updates on bill proposing ban on Delta-8 and similar products
ALABAMA (WHNT) — Cities across Alabama have started banning Delta-8 products, and a Senate bill could make that a statewide ban.
SB 132 proposes a ban on 'psychoactive cannabinoids,' or mind-altering substances containing THC. It specifically names Delta-8, Delta-9 and Delta-10 derivatives.
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It would classify THC in hemp products as Schedule 1 Controlled Substances, making the drug classification equivalent to that of heroin.
The Chief Science Officer for Mountaintop Dispensary John Dietz said this is a bill that would have crippling effects on multiple industries.
'That would completely eradicate the hemp industry,' Dietz said. 'It would also eradicate state jobs who are hemp program employees as inspectors, growers, the list goes on and on. It would even eradicate the CBD market. When you're growing plants for CBD or hemp fiber, there are still trace amounts of those psychoactive cannabinoids in that plant. So it would completely shut down and close down the industry.'
Dietz has spent the last nine years of his life as an organic chemist. He's also currently finishing his PhD in chemistry.
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He said the positives of hemp products outweigh the negatives, with local patients and doctors sometimes turning to these products instead of traditional medications.
'We work with terminally ill patients,' Dietz said. 'We work with different oncology departments in the area. We work with pharmacists around the area. A lot of patients get too sick from opiates and get too sick from certain medications. It's a natural and organic alternative.'
While the Senate Healthcare Committee did not vote on the bill today, it discussed additional revisions. The first revision was harsh penalties for those caught selling psychoactive cannabinoids to a minor.
The first offense is a $1,500 fine, the second offense is $2,500 and the third would be $5,000. If caught a fourth time distributing to a minor, State Senator Tim Melson, the sponsor of SB 132, says a business license will be revoked.
'On the fourth one, you would lose any license to sell any age-related products,' Melson said. 'So that would take away your tobacco, your alcohol, and your Delta-9 derivatives.'
Ensuring that children do not have access to psychoactive cannabinoids is something Dietz agrees with.
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'We do agree with there needs to be a fine-tuned solution on children not getting these products in their hands,' Dietz said.
Dietz disagrees with the committee's idea to get the Alcohol Beverage Control Board to regulate this bill. He said that hemp is a plant, not alcohol.
'From hemp products or cannabis products, we don't agree with the ABC control,' Dietz said. 'We believe that this is an agricultural product.'
The committee will discuss this bill again at a later date.
News 19 reached out to two local state senators, the Vice Chair of the Senate Healthcare Committee Senator Larry Stutts and the Committee Chair and sponsor of the bill Senator Tim Melson. News 19 has not heard back.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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