Latest news with #ABCBoard
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Northwest DC smoke shop ordered to close due to sale of illegal drugs
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — A Northwest D.C. smoke shop was ordered to close Thursday due to the sale of illegal drugs, according to the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration's (ABCA) Enforcement Division. B&K Convenience Store and Smoke Shop, located at 2414 18th Street NW, had its doors padlocked for operating as an unlicensed cannabis retailer. 13 people displaced after fire raged through townhomes in Gaithersburg The ABCA stated the business's operation posed 'a credible and imminent danger to public health and safety.' Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers and the ABCA searched the store and seized 3.8 pounds of marijuana, 133 grams of mushrooms, 1272 grams of mushroom edibles, 299 grams of THC edibles, 34 grams of THC concentrate, and 2449 grams of THC vapes. The business owners can request a hearing with the ABC Board and may be eligible for a remediation plan to resume business. The ABC Board can also fine each business owner $10,000 for the illegal sale. The smoke shop is the 54th business closed due to illegal cannabis sales since July 2024 through the Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
New Alabama Law Bans Smokable Hemp And Regulates Hemp Products
A new Alabama law bans smokable forms of hemp and regulates other consumable hemp products. Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey this week signed legislation to ban smokable forms of hemp and regulate other consumable hemp products. Ivey signed the bill over objections from representatives of the Alabama hemp industry and some state and local officials, who argue the new law threatens the viability of small businesses. The Alabama House of Representatives approved the measure last month, followed by passage in the state Senate on May 6. Ivey signed the bill, HB 455, on Wednesday, according to a report from Alabama Reflector. The legislation authorizes the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to regulate consumable hemp products, which are broadly defined to include any finished product for human or animal consumption that contains any part of the hemp plant or hemp derivatives. The board is tasked with issuing licenses to oversee the manufacturing, distribution and sales of hemp consumables, similar to the agency's oversight of the state's alcoholic beverage industry. According to the text of the new law, 'any smokeable hemp product' not limited to 'plant product or raw hemp material that is marketed to consumers as hemp cigarettes, hemp cigars, hemp joints, hemp buds, hemp flowers, hemp leaves, ground hemp flowers, or any variation of these terms to include any product that contains a cannabinoid, whether psychoactive or not' are prohibited by the measure. Republican state Rep. Andy Whitt, the sponsor of the HB 445, noted that the measure also prohibits hemp THC vaporizers. 'Also outlawed within this bill are the smokables, the inhalables; such as your vapes that had THC, your buds, your flowers,' said Whitt. The measure also restricts sales of consumable hemp products to adults aged 21 and older. Sales will only be permitted by retailers that are licensed to sell alcoholic beverages and stand-alone shops that do not permit access to minors. Online sales of hemp THC products are prohibited by the measure, as is the on-site consumption of such goods. The legislation also levies a tax on consumable hemp products. HB 445 also sets a limit for individual consumable hemp products of 10mg THC, the cannabis compound primarily responsible for marijuana's psychoactive effects, with a limit 40mg THC per package. Whitt said the legislation was necessary to protection children from unregulated intoxicating hemp products. 'It is putting guardrails on an unregulated and unlicensed product in the state of Alabama that's preying on our youth,' he said. The Alabama Reflector reports that it is unclear whether the new law prohibits CBD, and non-intoxicating cannabis compound found in many hemp products. Representatives of the state's hemp industry lobbied against the measure, saying it will threaten Alabama small businesses. 'I feel that it will destroy the hemp industry here in Alabama,' Joe Resha, CEO of the Apothecary dispensary, told WVTM 13 television news. 'The only thing we'll be able to sell will be ten-milligram drinks, ten-milligram edibles that are individually packaged; everything will have to go. There will be no more on-site consumption, there'll be no more deliveries, no more e-commerce.' Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey The bill was also opposed by some state and local officials. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin had encouraged Ivey to veto the bill, saying that it would return Alabama to 'an era of cannabis criminalization, overregulation, and lost opportunity.' 'By limiting access to legal hemp products, burdening small businesses with excessive restrictions, and imposing punitive taxes, this bill doesn't just regulate — it criminalizes,' Woodfin said. 'It locks out entrepreneurs, particularly Black and brown business owners who are often first to be policed and last to get licensed. It creates barriers where we should be building bridges — to opportunity, to equity, and to public health solutions that actually work. Alabama should be investing in the future of this industry — not regulating it into irrelevance.' Alabama's hemp industry is expected to file suit against the new hemp regulation law, according to media reports.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Potential Alabama CBD ban sparks local consumer backlash and demands
DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) — Strict regulations on the sale of hemp and CBD products could soon be in place, leaving those who rely on the products worried. 'I don't understand why you are trying to ban something that's not hurting anybody, it's not alcohol, it's not tobacco, this is CBD, it's lab tested and helps with a whole bunch of problems,' said consumer and patient Rasheryl Kinkade. Kinkade uses CBD products from Nature's Pointe Wellness for her diabetic neuropathy after she says the medication that she was prescribed affected her physically and mentally, making her suicidal at times, and she says she would hate to revert. Alabama bill giving ABC Board regulation over THC products derived from hemp awaiting Gov. Ivey's signature This is a good product and people need to understand how good it is and the leiglature needs to try it are they on medication get off it for a minute or add cbd and see if it helps you dont ban something if you dont know anything about it.. The potential ban also comes with restrictions, like limiting edible products to not exceed 10 milligrams per dose and no more than 40 milligrams per container, and gummies would have to be packaged individually. It will also require the products to be sold only in liquor stores, as the ABC board would control this. 'The state of Alabama is saying it's an intoxicant, governing it like alcohol; it has no business in helping people other than intoxication. Our product does not do that. For the legislature to look at it like that, you have to think there is some big money somewhere,' said Jude Rodgers, co-owner of Nature's Pointe Wellness. Additional people may qualify for WIC under new Alabama guidelines It also would impose a 10% tax on hemp products that would make it more expensive for consumers, which they say is way more affordable right now. The potential restrictions could have a major economic impact on businesses like Nature's Pointe Wellness and consumers. 'It will put us out of business who help many in the state. You're gonna make it to where people are going to spend that money out of state,' said Rodgers. Therefore, consumers and small businesses say they plan to stand up against lawmakers. 'You're attacking things that don't matter. Attack homelessness, that's running rampant, hunger, issues that matter. CBD is not,' Kinkade said. 'Call, email, go on social media, and ask Governor Ivey to veto,' said Kinkade. Alabama's potential CBD ban leads to consumer backlash Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Narcan to be part of Charlotte ABC store renovation; devices coming to all Mecklenburg County stores
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A life-saving initiative will be part of a renovation of a north Charlotte ABC store. The Mecklenburg County ABC Board announced Tuesday that the store on Sunset Road closed at the end of March for a renovation they say is designed to benefit not only the store's customers but also the surrounding community. Mecklenburg County leaders consider public feedback in 2026 budget proposal The renovation will include modernizing the store's layout and enhancing the shopping experience, but also having Narcan on hand. As part of its commitment to public safety, the ABC Board is also ensuring that all 31 store locations are stocked with the life-saving medication to reverse opioid overdoses. This initiative aligns with the Board's ongoing efforts to support community well-being and make essential safety resources more accessible to the public. The Sunset Road store is expected to reopen late April. ABC Board officials say the updated store will feature a refreshed design, improved product displays, and a more intuitive, customer-friendly layout. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
