Latest news with #HB445
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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.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
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Kay Ivey signs controversial Alabama hemp regulation into law
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey speaks at a press conference urging passage of a package of law enforcement bills on Feb. 12, 2025 at the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama. Ivey Wednesday signed a bill sponsored by Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest that would regulate the sale of hemp products in Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) Gov. Kay Ivey Wednesday signed a controversial bill aimed at regulating consumable hemp products into law. HB 445, sponsored by Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, faced strong opposition from the hemp industry, which claims the bill overregulates federally legal products, and the Alabama Policy Institute, a conservative think tank, which argued it did not regulate the products enough. Gina Maiola, a spokeswoman for Ivey, confirmed that the governor had signed the bill in a text message on Wednesday, but did not provide further comment. Whitt said after the governor's signature that it was 'an easy bill' for him to sponsor but 'a hard bill to pass.' 'It was hard because I took shots from both sides,' he said, saying that it was difficult to listen to the 'stretches of truth,' such as claims from API that it would legalize recreational marijuana or from the industry that it's a 'complete ban.' 'It is putting guardrails on an unregulated and unlicensed product in the state of Alabama that's preying on our youth,' Whitt said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Messages seeking comment were left with API and Molly Cole, a lobbyist for the Alabama Hemp and Vape Association, who indicated that litigation was being considered. The legislation will require testing and labeling for all consumable hemp products and caps at 10 milligrams per individually wrapped product and 40 milligrams per package. It will require the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board to license retailers of these products, restrict retail establishments selling hemp products and impose an excise tax on consumable hemp products. The bill also prohibits sales to minors. It bans smokable hemp products and imposes restrictions on online sales and direct delivery. Whitt maintained that his efforts is aimed at reducing youth access to these products, saying that the industry has operated largely unchecked. Representatives of the hemp industry said the bill's language was vague and have suggested that litigation will follow. Lawmakers, business owners, patients and lobbyists have also expressed uncertainty about the legislation. Whitt said that the bill also bans hemp-derived vapor products, but that is not clearly defined in the bill. It's not clear if the bill would ban CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in hemp. The bill explicitly bans smokable hemp products and certain psychoactive cannabinoids but defines 'consumable hemp product' broadly as any finished product intended for human or animal consumption that contains any part of the hemp plant or its derivatives. According to the bill, '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.' Whitt said that the legislation provides an opportunity for hemp business leaders to 'pivot into the products that that are approved here in Alabama that can truly help Alabama citizens again.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alabama hemp bill creates confusion; industry braces for fight
Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, displays a hemp-derived product as he introduces a bill to regulate the industry to the House Health Committee on April 2, 2025, in Montgomery, Ala. Whitt's bill is on Gov. Kay Ivey's desk, but the provisions of the legislation have led to criticism of the bill and confusion over what it does. (Alander Rocha/Alabama Reflector) A bill aimed at regulating consumable hemp products has landed on Gov. Kay Ivey's desk, but its future is uncertain. HB 445, sponsored by Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, would establish regulations for consumable hemp products in Alabama, but the bill's language and potential consequences have led the hemp industry to suggest the possibility of litigation and led to uncertainty among lawmakers, business owners, patients and lobbyists. 'It is my hope that the governor signs the bill this week. I think it's a good piece of legislation. I think it's a bipartisan piece of legislation, and certainly, we have to get the guardrails up on this industry,' Whitt said in a phone interview Tuesday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Key provisions of the bill include: Testing and labeling requirements for all consumable hemp products. Caps of 10 milligrams per individually wrapped product, with a cap of 40 milligrams per package. Authorization for the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board to license retailers of these products. Restrictions on retail establishments selling hemp products. Prohibition of sales to minors. Prohibition of smokable hemp products and restrictions on online sales and direct delivery. Imposition of an excise tax on consumable hemp products. The bill defines 'consumable hemp product' broadly as any finished product intended for human or animal consumption that contains any part of the hemp plant or its derivatives, but explicitly bans smokable hemp products and certain psychoactive cannabinoids. It's unclear whether the bill would ban CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in hemp. According to the bill, '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.' The bill was replaced with a substitute on the floor that had not been discussed in the Senate committee hearing, and a copy was not made available to the public until after its passage. Molly Cole, a lobbyist for the Alabama Hemp and Vape Association, said she wished a senator had asked for the bill to be read on the floor. 'When Sen. Melson came onto the floor and proposed this bill for the substitute, … no one called for it to be read on the floor. And then the way he proposed it was that all this bill does is move products to 21 and up stores,' Cole said, which she felt was misleading. Even the bill's sponsor and the senator who handled the bill in the upper chamber appear to be at odds over its implementation. Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, whose bill aimed at hemp regulation failed in committee but who handled Whitt's legislation in the Senate, said in an interview Tuesday that he was uncertain about whether the bill bans hemp-derived THC vapes. He thought that hemp-derived vapes could still be purchased in a 21+ vape shop. 'The hemp vape products, yes, anything with the THC would go to, my understanding … they would go to vape stores. But that being said, I'd have to double check now that you got me questioning,' Melson said. Whitt, however, was clear on the matter. 'Any smokeable, any inhalable product, is banned under this legislation. Vapes would be banned as well that had delta-8 and (delta)-9 in those,' he said. Delta-8 THC and delta-9 THC are psychoactive compounds found in cannabis, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Representatives of the hemp industry strongly oppose the measure, warning of consequences for both businesses and consumers. Carmelo Parasiliti, founder and CEO of Green Acres Organic Pharms in Florence, pointed to the potential damage the bill could have on his business. Parasiliti said that nearly every product they currently offer is federally legal and lab tested. Under HB 445, he said, it would all be illegal. 'We're going to keep our storefront open and serve Alabama to the best of our ability, but our future in Alabama is uncertain, and I'm really hoping Gov. Kay Ivey will veto this bill if she truly supports small businesses,' Parasiliti said in an interview Tuesday. He also pointed to potential harm to people who benefit from hemp medically, particularly those in a cancer program he started to provide free or low-cost hemp-derived products to people referred by providers. 'Even more troubling is the bill makes it unlawful to give these products away to people in need, no matter their condition, which I think is cruelty,' Parasiliti said. Nancy Owen Nelson, a cancer patient living in Florence who uses hemp, mostly CBD, for symptom management and a participant in the Green Acres Organic Pharm cancer program, said she was disappointed with the bill. Nelson said he plans to write a letter to Ivey encouraging her to veto it. She said she tried to leave a voicemail, but found it was full. 'The thing about this condition is that it is not anywhere in particular, so it is a whole body sensation, and a whole body fatigue. It helps me sleep, it helps me rest, and it helps me feel calmer,' Owen Nelson said. Whitt and Melson say that the bill's primary objective is to protect children and regulate an industry that has operated largely unchecked. Owen Nelson said she agrees with regulating the hemp industry but feels the bill goes too far, and that she wasn't sure if the bill would accomplish its intent of limiting access for minors, saying that children will find a way to these products. 'It's the responsibility of the vendors to not sell children and the families to protect their children within their homes,' she said. Whitt felt strongly that the need for 'guardrails' on the hemp industry, saying it was his goal to rein in 'the wild west of what's been derived out of the 2018 Farm Bill.' The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp and any cannabis product with no more than 0.3% THC by dry weight from the definition of marijuana under federal law. Molly Cole, a lobbyist for the Alabama Hemp and Vape Association, said the industry is confused about how the bill defines consumable hemp product. She also pointed to conflicting implementation dates, which say that the 'act shall become effective on July 1, 2025,' but indicate that businesses have until Jan. 1, 2026, to comply. 'That's causing a lot of chaos and confusion,' she said. The hemp industry is urging Ivey to veto HB 445. Gina Maiola, a spokeswoman for the governor, did not respond to a request for comment. If the governor vetoes the bill, the Legislature could override her veto, but it's also unclear whether the Legislature has the votes. The bill passed with a 60-27 vote and 14 abstentions out of the House and a 19-13 vote in the Senate. Parasiliti said he is hopeful for a veto. 'The governor's office just celebrated last week small business week, and here we are,' he said. 'If this bill is signed and put into law, it's going to be putting a lot of small businesses out of business.' Cole said that litigation is being considered, saying that 'the entire industry is looking at best practices moving forward, and litigation is being contemplated.' 'We're just trying to figure out what exactly is going to happen and what is not going to happen before we really start doing anything, but we are discussing it,' she said. The Alabama Policy Institute, a conservative think tank, also came out against the bill, though for different reasons, claiming on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the bill would legalize recreational cannabis use 'under the guise of protecting children.' Adding to the opposition, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin posted a statement on Facebook saying the bill undermines progress made in cannabis reform and harms small businesses. 'Alabama House Bill 445 is a step backwards and harmful to small businesses in Birmingham,' Woodfin said. 'Instead of moving us closer to justice and equity, this bill risks dragging us back to an era of cannabis criminalization, overregulation, and lost opportunity.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New regulations for hemp businesses could soon happen across Alabama if bill becomes law
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — A new bill that would crack down on hemp and THC-products sold across Alabama could soon become law. HB445, sponsored by Rep. Andy Whitt, recently passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate and now awaits Gov. Kay Ivey's signature. Specifically, the bill calls for the regulation of the sale and distribution of hemp products, including drinks and gummies, sold in businesses, keep them out of those younger than 21, as well as place a 10% tax and limit them to establishments licensed by the Alcoholic Beverage and Control Board. In addition, serving sizes would be limited to 10 milligrams of THC, all regulated by the ABC Board. Alabama nonprofit art studio that celebrates the autism community hit by Trump cuts to NEA Whitt, R-Harvest, said hemp gummies and snacks can be found in some convenient stores around the state. 'Nachos. THC-flavored nachos,' Whitt said. 'It's just unreal what I've seen out there in the product.' Whitt claims convenient stores are marketing gummies and snacks to children, all with 'dangerous THC levels.' 'Do you think the students in our high schools are going around and reading the back of those packages, and saying, 'Oh, I'm sorry, a dose of this is 1/16 of this gummy?' That's just not happening,' he said However, some business owners are calling these regulations a burden. Carmelo Parasiliti, owner of Green Acres Organic Pharms in Florence, said the bill would eliminate almost all of the products they offer. 'It puts honest, community-focused business at risk,' Parasiliti said. 'And, we've done everything right. We've followed the rules. We've tested every product. We've created our Compassion Cancer Program.' That program, as Parasiliti explains, provides products to cancer patients free of charge. He said that would go away with new taxes levied under the bill. Parasiliti is urging Ivey to veto the bill. As of Tuesday, a petition on has received nearly 1,300 signatures requesting Ivey kill the bill. 'Last week was small business awareness week,' he said. 'We're a small business. And this- you'll have a way to save our business by vetoing this. So, please do.' 3 Big Lots stores reopening in Alabama after emerging from bankruptcy Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has also taken issue with the bill, claiming it would do more harm than good to local businesses. '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. If HB445 is signed into law, THC products could be sold in designated areas at grocery stores, as well as shops serving customers 21 years old and older. Whitt said the bill isn't a complete ban on the product, but that some will need to change their business model. 'Your convenient store, local convenient store, is not a pharmacy. It should not be viewed as one,' he said. 'So they should be selling gas and snacks, not drugs to our kids.' While those in Ivey's office said the bill is still under review, it could automatically become law if she doesn't take action on it by the end of the day Wednesday. 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
