Alabama Governor Signs Bill to Regulate THC Products, Ban Smokable Hemp

Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation on May 14 that will regulate and tax certain hemp-derived THC products while banning others.  

Sponsored by Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, House Bill 445 prohibits smokable hemp products and more broadly authorizes the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board to license and oversee consumable hemp product manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.

In addition, the new law will place a 10% excise tax on hemp product sales, impose testing and labeling requirements, prohibit sales to those under 21 years old, ban online sales and direct deliveries, and empower the ABC Board to conduct inspections and seize unlawful consumable hemp products without a warrant.

While the legislation goes into effect on July 1, 2025, the product regulations begin on Jan. 1, 2026.

“Today marks real progress for Alabama and the safety of our children,” Whitt wrote on X following Ivey’s signing. “By putting guardrails on these unregulated and untested products, we’ve taken meaningful steps to bring oversight and responsibility to an industry that’s operated without either for too long.”

Whitt also told the Alabama Daily News that the state’s hemp industry has been the “wild west” since the 2018 Farm Bill, which federally legalized hemp, defining it as a cannabis plant that tests at 0.3% delta-9 THC or less on a dry-weight basis in the field. The federal legislation does not regulate finished goods, allowing manufacturers to create intoxicating products from the plant’s derivatives absent of state interventions.

Under H.B. 445, edible hemp products cannot exceed 10 milligrams of total THC per serving or 40 milligrams per container, while beverages are limited to 10 milligrams of THC per serving and no more than four 12-fluid-ounce servings per container. Topicals, sublinguals and other product categories are limited to 40 milligrams of total THC per container.

In addition to banning smokable products, the legislation also prohibits any product that contains “psychoactive cannabinoids” that are created by a chemical synthesis, modification or chemical conversion from another cannabinoid, which is often the case for delta-8 THC, which is commonly converted in a laboratory from CBD.

Alabama Cannabis Coalition founder and President H. Marty Schelper said in a video she posted Wednesday on social media that “erroneous” information led to the bill’s passage.

“We are extremely disappointed in our legislators. We are equally disappointed in Gov. Kay Ivey,” she said, specifically calling out Whitt and state Sen. Tim Melson, who sponsored the bill in the upper chamber. “What H.B. 445 did was you turned people that needed this hemp flower to the streets, to the black market. You’re so concerned about the safety and the [certificates of analysis] and the control and the regulation, but you’re turning people out on the street that need access to flower.”

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, a cannabis reform advocate who has pardoned thousands of Alabamians in his city for cannabis possession offenses, also opposed H.B. 445, urging Ivey to veto the bill.

“Governor Ivey made the wrong call by signing HB445,” he wrote May 14 on X. “Folks who backed this bill now own what comes next—lost jobs, shuttered businesses, and millions in lost revenue. I hope it’s challenged in court and/or fixed in the Legislature as soon as possible next session. Alabama deserves better than this.”

Behind his sponsorship, Whitt talked with local media on Wednesday about his concerns with the state’s hemp industry morphing into high-THC beverages being sold at bars and restaurants in the aftermath of the 2018 Farm Bill.  

Under H.B. 445, the ABC Board would be limited to licensing the following retailers to sell consumable hemp-derived THC products: those that have a valid retail liquor license; or that only sell consumable hemp products.

However, licensed pharmacies could sell topicals or sublinguals, while grocery stores that have at least 14,000 square feet dedicated to food item sales could sell hemp-THC beverages that are kept separate from beverages intended for children, behind glass, and demarcated by a sign indicating that the beverages contain hemp-derived compounds.

While hemp industry advocates opposed the legislation for being too strict, the reform measure also took hits from prohibitionists who said it did not go far enough.

Stephanie Holden Smith, president and CEO of the Alabama Policy Institute (API), suggested that Alabama’s elected officials are “condoning the recreational use of dangerous products” through the passage of H.B. 445.

“The amended bill also allows drinkable THC in grocery stores across the state, locations frequented by Alabama’s youngest citizens,” she said in a public statement. “API stands by our assertion that hemp-derived psychoactive THC products should be banned entirely. We believe that the legislative aim to limit access to psychoactive THC has unfortunately fallen short.”

Under H.B. 445, those who sell or provide consumable hemp products to those under 21 years of age will face license suspension or revocation and fines ranging from $5,000 to $20,000. In addition to civil penalties, multiple-time offenders could face felony charges.