“What I would encourage is that we look at… an economic impact study and maybe a task force… so that way we actually know the facts.”
By Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector
In response to concerns about youth access, and the lack of control over these products, an Alabama House Committee approved on Tuesday a new bill that will impose regulations for consumable hemp.
Andy Whitt (R-Harvest) sponsored HB 445, which would grant the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board the authority to regulate and license the manufacture, distribution, and retail sales of hemp-derived products and to ban their sale for anyone younger than 21.
Whitt said that there were “recent developments” that made the bill more urgent and read a press release from Herbal Oasis, a company that produces hemp-derived products that planned to expand to Alabama, saying “their product will be in convenience stores, grocery stores and other locations throughout Alabama and Florida Panhandle, starting in late March.”
Whitt explained that “this is what we tried to achieve last week, which was stopping this product from being presented in such a way.”
In a public hearing Wednesday, opponents of the bill said that there was a lack of data for what Carmelo Parasiliti, founder and CEO of Green Acres Organic Pharms in Florence, referred to as a lawmakers’ “hysteria,” and that data from the Alabama Poison Information Center suggests it is currently affecting less than .1 percent of children in Alabama. The opponents also proposed a commission of experts to create “evidence based policy” for cannabis regulation.
Under the proposed law, consumable hemp products could only be sold in regulated, 21-and-over retail environments — either standalone hemp product stores or existing off-premise liquor stores approved by local authorities.
It also prohibits the marketing of products that are appealing to minors. This bill bans self-serve and vending displays as well.
Whitt did mention that the marketing of these snacks to children was a problem, but he didn’t provide evidence. Whitt said, “We do have some bad activities that are our problems,” referring to the use of children’s snacks in marketing these products. He did not provide any evidence for the claim.
It also creates civil as well as criminal penalties. These include fines that start at $1,000 for those who exceed the allowed THC percentages. A Class C misdemeanor can result in up to a 30 day jail sentence and fines up to $500. The bill would amend an existing law which currently permits the sale of psychoactive cannabis to adults.
Rep. Jeremy Gray of Opelika said he didn’t oppose the legislation but wanted to further study it.
“What I would encourage is that we look at… an economic impact study and maybe a task force… so that way we actually know the facts.”
After a voice vote, the bill has now been sent to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
The original publication of this story is Alabama Reflector.
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