MONTGOMERY — The Alabama House of Representatives advanced legislation on Thursday, allowing the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) board to regulate consumable hemp products by licensing distributors and wholesalers.
According to the bill's sponsor, State Rep. Andy Whitt (R-Harvest), it is primarily aimed at the unregulated and mass distribution of consumable, psychoactive hemp products found at convenience stores, gas stations, and elsewhere.
"This legislation is an effort to put guardrails on a current unregulated, unchecked, and dangerous industry," Whitt told the House. "And that is the sale of psychoactive cannabinoids and THC-infused drinks."
House Bill 445 (HB445) would authorize the Alabama ABC Board to regulate all consumable hemp products through the licensure of manufacturers, wholesale distributors, and retailers. Whitt also stated the bill would ban all hemp-derived inhalable products, including vapes, flowers and buds.
It would also limit sales to those over 21 and restrict retail establishments that sell consumable hemp products to existing liquor stores or other locations that minors may not access, with penalties provided. It would also add requirements for labeling and testing, limit the amount of THC that can be in consumable hemp products to five milligrams, and levy an excise tax.
"This takes it out of our convenience stores, takes it out of our retail stores," Whitt continued. "There is no vape products that will be allowed in this bill. There's no inhalable. We've all seen the buds that are in these glass jars; these will be outlawed in the bill as well."
In a surprising move, no lawmaker used any debate time on the bill, moving to a final vote within five minutes of being introduced. It passed 76-15 with 11 abstentions.
Also, surprisingly, the most conservative and liberal members of the House made up the majority of "no" votes.
The bill now goes to the Senate, which Whitt told 1819 News seemed amenable to passing it.
The bill's fiscal note states that it would increase the ABC board's financial obligations by an undetermined amount, dependent upon the cost of storage spaces for seized contraband, additional personnel, and other administrative costs associated with the licensure and regulation of these products.
However, it also states that licensing fees and civil penalties would offset those costs. The bill stipulates a $50 initial license fee for retailers and a $50 "label approval fee" for manufacturers.
The annual fees would include $5,000 for a manufacturer license fee, $5,000 for a wholesaler license, and $1,000 for a retail license.
The bill also authorizes the ABC board to fine up to $20,000 per offense for civil penalties.
It will also allow the Alabama Department of Public Health to collect undetermined fees to review certificates of analysis submitted for certain consumable hemp products.
All fees and fines would be deposited in the state Treasury into the Consumable Hemp Product Compliance Fund, created by the bill.
In the Senate, State Sen. Tim Melson (R-Florence) introduced an outright ban on THC products. However, it was eventually carried over and has yet to receive a vote after multiple proposed amendments to regulate the products instead of a total ban.
During the committee process, several House members asked Whitt why he was pursuing regulation instead of a ban, to which he responded that there did not appear to be an appetite among lawmakers for it.
Delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, HHC, THCa and THCP are among some of the most popular psychoactive cannabinoids legally available at hundreds of stores in the state right now. Their surge in popularity comes as they are legal alternatives to traditional marijuana.
The primary psychoactive compound found in marijuana and its derivatives is called Delta-9 THC. However, state law lists all THC as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. The legal cannabinoids are generally derived from hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD), which is excluded from the state's current drug scheduling. The hemp plant is used to extract compounds that, while technically legal, produce a similar psychoactive effect as traditionally smoked, vaped or ingested THC.
Like THC, the legal cannabinoids can be eaten, usually in the form of gummies, as well as smoked, vaped and consumed in infused drinks. Some retain their chemical structure after being ingested. While others, like THCa, convert to Delta-9 THC when heated, either as a bud, flower or through vaping THCa extracts.
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