The Mobile City Council approved an ordinance to allow hemp retailers to resume business. The ordinance amends the City’s license code to comply with state law regarding the sale of consumable hemp products.
An amendment to the ordinance by Councilman Ben Reynolds allows businesses to apply for hemp licenses in the same way they apply for liquor licenses.
Businesses must go through the city's approval process before applying for a license from the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
All businesses selling hemp products must comply with the city's Unified Development Code (UDC) and operational regulations, including hours of operation, age restrictions, a prohibition on on-site consumption, inspections and zoning requirements. Reynolds said he hopes more protections will be added to the UDC.
“I think it's important that we in this amendment here, it directs us to the UDC for management of these facilities throughout the city,” said Reynolds. “But UDC I think needs some cleanup and we need to be more precise about the density of these things and then also how we're going to manage the zoning for all hemp products, including medical marijuana. The last thing we want to do is allow what's happened with storage facilities and car washes and you know big money from out of state or out of town comes in and they want to open a hemp shop on every corner. We need to put in protections to make sure that that doesn't happen and we can protect the general health and welfare of our community going forward because these things are not that attractive all the time.”
The application fee for consumable hemp products would be $50 under the new license schedule. The council will revisit the discussion and consider the ordinance at its pre-council and council meeting on Tuesday.
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