Alabama businesses that sell gummies, flowers, and other products containing CBD and THC derived from hemp will close if a bill passed by the Legislature this week becomes law, owners said.
Sonya Lowery, owner of Freedom CBD & Wellness in Tuscaloosa, said the bill would outlaw the higher-dose gummies and hemp flowers that make up 90% of her sales.
Lowery said her store, which has been in business for six years, would no longer be profitable.
“It’s really upsetting,” Lowery said. “It affects me and my livelihood as a business owner.
“But my customers are what it affects the most. That’s what I’m upset about the most.”
Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday passed HB445 by Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, which will tax, regulate, and restrict the sales of gummies, drinks, vapes, and other products with cannabinoids from hemp, a legal variety of the marijuana plant.
Cannabinoids include THC, also known as Delta 8, Delta 9, and Delta 10, and CBD. THC is the psychoactive chemical in marijuana.
Gov. Kay Ivey could sign the bill into law.
Gina Maiola, the governor’s communications director, said the bill is being reviewed.
Lowery traveled to the State House in Montgomery to attend hearings that packed committee rooms and lobby against the bill, along with other business owners and advocates.
Lowery said most of her customers use the products for to help with pain or anxiety, or to help sleep. Customers know the law might be changing and are worried, she said.
“I have customers who already came in before this bill passed crying,” Lowery said.
“They don’t know what they’re going to do. They can finally sleep. And now they’re scared and they’re worried. And I don’t know what to tell them.”
Whitt and the bill’s other main sponsor, Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, said the consumable products using hemp-derived THC are unregulated and dangerous and are sometimes packaged to appeal to children.
Lawmakers passed a bill two years ago restricting sales to customers 21 and older, but the supporters of the bill said that hasn’t stopped minors from using the products, which are widely available in stores and online.
HB445 would limit sales to stores licensed to sell consumable hemp products by the Alcoholic Beverage and Control Board.
The stores could only admit people 21 and older, except that the bill allows grocery stores of at least 14,000 square feet to sell THC beverages in a designated section if the stores obtain a license from the ABC board for the products.
The bill would add a new 10% retail tax on the products in addition to the regular state and local sales taxes. The bill spells out restrictions on packaging, labeling, and requires certification of product contents by a lab.
Products would have to come in individual wrappers for a single serving, and could not exceed 10 milligrams of THC.
Smokable forms of the product would be banned, including hemp flowers.
The bill bans direct shipment of products to customers.
Jennifer Boozer, owner of CannaBama in Mobile, said responsible retailers and their adult customers will suffer if the bill becomes law.
“It’s not going to keep the products out of Alabama,” Boozer said. “It’s going to keep the jobs out of Alabama, the small businesses out of Alabama and the tax revenue out of Alabama.
“The bad actors are criminals. Criminals don’t obey laws just because you passed a shiny new one. Criminals are going to continue to find ways to violate the laws.
“This law only punishes the ones of us who are trying to do it well and the people of Alabama.”
Boozer said she restricted her store to people 21 and over before the Legislature passed a law in 2023 banning sales to people under 21. Boozer said she never wanted any questions about whether she sold to a child.
Boozer, like Lowery, said flowers and the higher-dosage edibles, which would be banned under HB445, were her biggest sellers.
“They are taking 90% of my inventory,” Boozer said. “And I’ve never once sold to a child. I have never once had a customer come in and say, ‘I got sick from your product.’”
Boozer, who hosts a weekly radio show in Mobile, Sweet Home CannaBama, on FM Talk 106.5 in Mobile, said pain, sleep, and anxiety are the three top reasons customers visit her store.
Boozer said the products can help customers kick addictions to pain pills, alcohol, and other drugs. She said she is worried about where they will turn if her store closes.
“They’ll have to go to the black market,” Boozer said. “Or they will have to break state law to get federally legal hemp products from websites or from the states around us.”
The Legislature passed a bill to tax and restrict the sales of consumable products with cannabinoids from hemp. Read More
