Alabama lawmakers push efforts to regulate the sale of delta products

State Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, is the latest lawmaker attempting to regulate the sale of hemp-derived THC products in Alabama.

Whitt recently filed HB445, which would authorize the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to regulate all consumable hemp products, like delta-8, delta-9, and delta-10.

Under HB445, only existing liquor stores or other locations that minors can’t access would be licensed to sell these products, according to its text.

The bill would also establish labeling and testing requirements on consumable hemp products and would limit the amount of THCs that may be present in consumable hemp products to five milligrams for a beverage and 0.3 percent total on a dry weight basis for other products.

HB445 also sets an additional tax of seven percent on the sale of all hemp-derived THC products and establishes the Consumable Hemp Product Compliance Fund within the State Treasury to budget the tax funds towards THC education and the state’s general fund.

Efforts to reach Whitt for comment were not immediately successful.

The bill is currently pending action in the House Committee on Health.

It is the second bill attempting to regulate these products that has been filed in the last week after another, SB132, brought forth by state Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, failed Wednesday in the Senate Committee on Healthcare.

Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, has also brought forth SB255, which was authored by Near to Me Dispensaries CEO Johnson Parker.

Parker told AL.com this week that his and Smitherman’s bill, which differs from Whitt’s in that it proposes an additional tax of six percent and allows the Department of Agriculture and Industries to oversee most of the sale regulations instead of the ABC board, is the best solution to concerns on both sides of the issue.

“Our bill is based on successful ideas in other states dealing with this plant,” he wrote.

“If those regulations work for a stronger marijuana, then they will work for a milder hemp product. Health and safety of Alabamians is the premise of SB255, which is based on actual studied facts and not just an emotional appeal.”

Parker agreed with the concerns of Melson and other members of the Senate Healthcare Committee that keeping THC products out of the hands of minors is a key priority.

“The goal of our bill is to regulate and verify products are safe and accessible to only those 21 and up,” he wrote.

“To ensure this, licensing and regulation of retailers specifically for these products is necessary- there is no reason children should see these products in grocery stores or gas stations.”

SB255 dictates that any business issued a cannabinoid retailer license has to ensure that at least 80% of products sold in the store are THC products.

“These products need to be tested and need verification that they are safe to consume, as there are too many reports of dangerous products coming from gas stations,” Parker wrote.

He added that the additional tax was necessary “to pay for a safety fund enforcing these measures.”

But he said he worked with Smitherman to ensure that the “tax isn’t high.”

“If the tax is too high it will stimulate a black market,” Parker wrote.

The original version of Melson’s bill would have classified “psychoactive cannabinoids” as Schedule I controlled substances, in the same class as LSD or heroin.

He said recently that this version was only filed to “shock people and start a conversation.”

But Parker argues that a total ban on the products would only lead to greater harm.

“Prohibition doesn’t work, and it makes a black market thrive- while also introducing actually dangerous hard drugs to uncaring drug dealers,” he wrote.

“If we stifle the largest commodity (cannabis) and the customers with money (adults), this will inhibit success and supply of drug dealers.”

He added that “this will trickle down to the access for teens.”

"Studies have proven that not having a regulated market increases teen use, which is the point of how this conversation started," he wrote.

Efforts to reach Smitherman were not immediately successful.

SB255 is currently pending action in the Senate Committee on Tourism.