Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signs bill restricting hemp sales

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill Wednesday regulating the sale and distribution of hemp products, including drinks and gummies.

Ivey signed HB445, which reduces serving sizes of THC to 10 milligrams. Establishments selling these products must be licensed by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. The law places a 10% tax on hemp products and prohibits business from selling them to anyone who’s younger than 21.

State Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, who sponsored the bill, said before the bill was signed that hemp gummies and snacks are in certain convenient stores across Alabama. He claimed some stores market gummies and snacks to children with “dangerous THC levels.”

There was some pushback against the bill. Carmelo Parasiliti, owner of Green Acres Organic Pharms in Florence, said the bill would eliminate almost all of the products they offer. Parasiliti urged Ivey to veto the bill. As of Wednesday, a petition on Change.org garnered over 1,900 signatures requesting Ivey kill the bill.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin expressed issues he had with the bills.

“This bill doesn’t protect our communities — it destroys jobs, shuts down local businesses, and hands the industry to big corporations,” Woodfin said in a statement Monday.

Whitt said the bill isn’t a total ban on hemp, though he acknowledged some stores will need to change their business model.

“Your convenient store, local convenient store, is not a pharmacy. It should not be viewed as one,” Whitt said. “So they should be selling gas and snacks, not drugs to our kids.”