ALEA raids businesses ahead of hemp regulation law taking effect
Updated: 5:28 AM CDT Jun 25, 2025
Video: WVTM 13 First Warning ForecastJust days before House Bill 445, a law that provides strict regulations on hemp-derived THC products, takes effect, state investigators are already on the move, raiding several CBD specialty stores and vape shops.The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency says the raids happened in Clanton, Enterprise, Troy and Wetumpka.ALEA spokesperson Capt. Jeremy Burkett says the search warrants were carried out at stores investigators say were violating current, long-standing marijuana laws and seized large amounts of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Starting July 1, the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board will begin regulating products that include delta-8, delta-9 and delta-10.While advocates of the bill say their main goal is to protect children from hemp products, opponents say it will undo years of cannabis reform.”The way that model looks, nobody can stay in business,” said Ben Richards, who owns Avondale Apothecary. “Nobody’s going to be able to pay for staff, pay for all the equipment you need and rent on single-serving gummies, and single-serving drinks, I mean, with no consumption. It really handcuffs the whole hemp industry.”You will not be able to buy items like hemp cigarettes, cigars, vapes, flowers or buds, but you can buy edibles and drinks limited to 10 milligrams of THC per serving.Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin wrote a post on Facebook criticizing HB 445, saying, “Under this bill, a product that is legally purchased today will become a felony offense next week – while simple marijuana possession remains a misdemeanor. That’s not justice. That’s backward policy.”Woodfin also praised Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who vetoed a similar bill Sunday that would have banned THC products across Texas, saying Gov. Kay Ivey should have followed suit. The ALEA and the Alabama attorney general’s office plan to hold a press conference on June 27 to provide more details on the raids.
Video: WVTM 13 First Warning Forecast
Just days before House Bill 445, a law that provides strict regulations on hemp-derived THC products, takes effect, state investigators are already on the move, raiding several CBD specialty stores and vape shops.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency says the raids happened in Clanton, Enterprise, Troy and Wetumpka.
ALEA spokesperson Capt. Jeremy Burkett says the search warrants were carried out at stores investigators say were violating current, long-standing marijuana laws and seized large amounts of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Starting July 1, the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board will begin regulating products that include delta-8, delta-9 and delta-10.
While advocates of the bill say their main goal is to protect children from hemp products, opponents say it will undo years of cannabis reform.
“The way that model looks, nobody can stay in business,” said Ben Richards, who owns Avondale Apothecary. “Nobody’s going to be able to pay for staff, pay for all the equipment you need and rent on single-serving gummies, and single-serving drinks, I mean, with no consumption. It really handcuffs the whole hemp industry.”
You will not be able to buy items like hemp cigarettes, cigars, vapes, flowers or buds, but you can buy edibles and drinks limited to 10 milligrams of THC per serving.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin wrote a post on Facebook criticizing HB 445, saying, “Under this bill, a product that is legally purchased today will become a felony offense next week – while simple marijuana possession remains a misdemeanor. That’s not justice. That’s backward policy.”
Woodfin also praised Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who vetoed a similar bill Sunday that would have banned THC products across Texas, saying Gov. Kay Ivey should have followed suit.
The ALEA and the Alabama attorney general’s office plan to hold a press conference on June 27 to provide more details on the raids.
