Gov. Kay Ivey is getting plenty of advice on what to do with a bill that would regulate sales of gummies, drinks, and other consumable products containing the marijuana chemical THC that is derived from hemp.
That includes advice from people who are urging the governor to veto the bill, HB445 by Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, but for entirely different reasons.
On one side are store owners who say the regulations are an overreach that will put them out of business and deprive their customers of products they depend on to relieve symptoms such as pain, anxiety, and sleeplessness.
On the other side are those who say HB445 is weak and that it gives legal status to products that should be banned in a state where possession of marijuana remains a crime.
Among those who make that point are the Alabama Policy Institute, a conservative research and advocacy organization that says its mission is to promote “free markets, limited government, and strong families.”
The API issued a press release last week saying HB445, sponsored by Whitt and Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, effectively legalizes recreational marijuana “under the guise of protecting children.”
The API noted that marijuana is a Schedule 1 drug under the federal controlled substances act, a category for drugs with a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use.
“API stands opposed (to) the state condoning and taxing the illegal drug use of its citizens,” the organization said in its news release. “Picking winners and losers with spotty regulation and low taxation isn’t the answer.
“If this bill is signed, the real losers will be the citizens of Alabama dealing with the aftermath of drugs being sold legally statewide in grocery stores, in state sanctioned stores, and in stores in every community.”
Whitt responded to the API and other critics of his bill with an op-ed piece about what he called “nose growing narratives.”
Whitt said the hemp business advocates and those calling for ban on the products are special interest groups who did not get their way on the bill, which he said was a compromise.
“HB445 neither bans all hemp-derived THC products, nor does it legalize recreational marijuana,” Whitt wrote. “What it does is introduce commonsense controls on substances that are already federally legal.”
Whitt wrote that API President and CEO Stephanie Smith attacked his integrity with false statements because she said HB445 would make marijuana laws in Alabama more lenient than in Colorado, where recreational marijuana is legal.
Smith said the API did not attack Whitt’s character. She stuck by the substance of API’s news release that urged Ivey to veto the bill.
“API’s entire focus has been on the harmful impacts that hemp-derived psychoactive THC has on its users and its broader negative effects on society,” Smith wrote in an email responding to Whitt’s op-ed.
“We have made comparisons to Colorado, where it is illegal to make and sell THC products that have been manufactured from hemp-derived psychoactive cannabinoids due to the harmful chemicals used to make these products.
“While non-synthetic recreational marijuana is legal in Colorado, edible products are limited to no more than 10mg of THC per serving, the exact same limit in HB445, as passed by the Alabama Legislature.
“This is fact, not fiction. Even Colorado recognizes the serious health and psychological dangers of synthetic hemp-derived THC and banned it.”
The products containing THC derived from hemp – also known as Delta 8, Delta 9 and Delta 10 – are widely available in Alabama in specialty shops and in convenience stores, as well as online.
The shops also sell products with CBD, another cannabinoid that does not have the psychoactive effects of THC.
Whitt’s bill would ban smokable hemp products, which some businesses say are their most popular sellers.
It would regulate other products with THC, such as gummies, other edibles, and beverages.
It would restrict sales to retailers licensed by the ABC Board under a new license category. The stores would be restricted to people 21 and older, except that grocery stores could sell THC-infused beverages in designated areas with the products behind glass.
The bill would limit THC content per serving size and require products to carry labels that show ingredients as certified by an independent lab.
Direct shipments to customers, such as internet sales, would be illegal.
The bill would impose fines, and in some cases criminal penalties for violations, or for selling to customers under 21.
Marty Schelper, founder of the Alabama Cannabis Coalition, which advocates for legalization of marijuana, helped lead a protest in downtown Montgomery on Saturday urging Ivey to veto the bill.
Schelper said the hemp-derived products are particularly important in Alabama because the state’s medical marijuana industry, authorized by the Legislature four years ago to treat pain, anxiety, symptoms from cancer treatment, and many other conditions, remains stalled in court over licensing disputes. No products are available.
“The hemp industry has been providing what the Medical Cannabis Commission wanted to provide for the citizens,” Schelper said. “The hemp industry has been filling that void.
“So, if this legislation is signed by Gov. Kay Ivey, the citizens will not have access to hemp products that have been filling that void.”
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has urged Ivey to veto the bill because of the impact he said it would have on businesses.
Woodfin has been critical of the negative consequences of criminal sanctions for marijuana possession and has initiated pardons for people who were charged in municipal court.
The governor’s office has not said whether Ivey will sign the bill, only that it is under review.
The governor has several options. She could sign it into law, send it back to the Legislature with executive amendments, or recommended changes.
Or she could take no action and allow it to become law without her signature.
If the governor vetoes the bill, the Legislature could override the veto with votes by a majority of representatives and senators.
The Legislature passed a bill to tax and regulate consumable products containing THC derived from hemp, a legal form of the cannabis plant. Read More
