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Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signs bill restricting hemp sales
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill Wednesday regulating the sale and distribution of hemp products, including drinks and gummies. Ivey signed HB445, which reduces serving sizes of THC to 10 milligrams. Establishments selling these products must be licensed by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. The law places a 10% tax on hemp products and prohibits business from selling them to anyone who's younger than 21. State Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, who sponsored the bill, said before the bill was signed that hemp gummies and snacks are in certain convenient stores across Alabama. He claimed some stores market gummies and snacks to children with 'dangerous THC levels.' There was some pushback against the bill. Carmelo Parasiliti, owner of Green Acres Organic Pharms in Florence, said the bill would eliminate almost all of the products they offer. Parasiliti urged Ivey to veto the bill. As of Wednesday, a petition on garnered over 1,900 signatures requesting Ivey kill the bill. Gov. Kay Ivey signs law banning smartphones in Alabama public schools Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin expressed issues he had with the bills. 'This bill doesn't protect our communities — it destroys jobs, shuts down local businesses, and hands the industry to big corporations,' Woodfin said in a statement Monday. Whitt said the bill isn't a total ban on hemp, though he acknowledged some stores will need to change their business model. 'Your convenient store, local convenient store, is not a pharmacy. It should not be viewed as one,' Whitt said. 'So they should be selling gas and snacks, not drugs to our kids.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alabama bill giving ABC Board regulation over THC products derived from hemp awaiting Gov. Ivey's signature
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WHNT) — A new bill to regulate THC products derived from hemp in Alabama has passed through the House and Senate and is headed to Governor Kay Ivey's desk. House Bill 445, sponsored by Andy Whitt, would grant the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to regulate all consumable hemp products through the licensure of manufacturers, wholesale distributors and retailers of consumable hemp products. The bill says that under existing law, products that have 'psychoactive cannabinoids found in or derived from hemp may not be sold to minors but are otherwise not regulated.' It also defines THC as 'any tetrahydrocannabinol derived from hemp, including, but not limited to, Delta-8, Delta-9 or Delta-10. Under HB445, if passed into law, it would: Impose testing and labeling requirements on all consumable hemp products sold in this state Authorize the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to license retailers of these products Establish restrictions on retail establishments Prohibit the sale of consumable hemp products to minors Prohibit the sale of smokable hemp products Prohibit online sales and direct delivery of consumable hemp products Impose an excise tax on consumable hemp products and provide for the distribution of tax proceeds Establish the Consumable Hemp Product Compliance Fund and provide for expenditures of the fund Authorize the board to seize unlawful consumable hemp products Provide for civil and criminal penalties for violations Repeal Section 13A-12-214.4, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to the sale of psychoactive cannabinoids If signed into law, HB445 would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026. After this, 'consumable hemp products distributed into or within the state and offered for sale and sold to consumers in this state shall be governed by this chapter. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board shall administer and enforce this chapter and shall adopt rules as necessary to implement this chapter.' The Consumable Hemp Product Compliance Fund, as stated in HB445, is created within the State Treasury and is said to be administered by the Board. 'All filing fees, annual license fees, and label approval fees collected under this chapter shall be deposited into the fund. Amounts deposited into the fund shall be budgeted and allotted in accordance with Sections 41-4-80 through 41-4-96 and Sections 41-19-1 through 41-19-12.,' the bill says. The bill defines the contents of the consumable hemp products: For a beverage or any edible product, a consumable hemp product may not contain more than 10 milligrams of total THC For any topical, sublingual, or other consumable hemp product not addressed in subdivision (1), one container of a consumable hemp product may not contain more than 40 milligrams of total THC All edible consumable hemp products shall be individually wrapped in single-serve packaging. One carton may not contain more than 40 milligrams of total THC A beverage serving size may not exceed 12 fluid ounces or 355 milliliters. One carton may not contain more than four 12-ounce containers A consumable hemp product may not contain alcohol, other than as a flavoring agent, or any other intoxicating compound other than cannabinoids The bill said that, if passed, a 10% excise tax would be levied on the retail sales price of consumable hemp products. This is in addition to any other tax imposed by federal, state or local law. The bill also lists out what each label/packaging for a consumable hemp product must contain at a minimum: May not bear the likeness or contain cartoon-like characteristics of a real or fictional person, animal, or fruit that appeals to children Must be child-resistant A list of all ingredients in descending order of predominance A scannable barcode or quick response code linked to the certificate of analysis The batch number that corresponds to the certificate of analysis The total number of milligrams of THC per serving May not be modeled after a brand of products primarily consumed by or marketed to children May not include a statement, artwork, or design that could reasonably mislead an individual to believe that the package contains anything other than a consumable hemp product The manufacture date and expiration date The total number of milligrams of THC found in the container and the serving size This bill was first introduced on March 18, it passed the House on April 10 and then passed the Senate on May 6. You can read what the full enrolled bill entails below. Alabama-2025-HB445-EnrolledDownload Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
