The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on Thursday (Oct. 9) approved several rules related to this year’s law regulating consumable THC and hemp products. House Bill 445 tasks the ABC board with licensing retailers of the products.
The rules approved Thursday related to record keeping requirements, labeling and promotion of consumable hemp products and the creation of a hearing commission to hear contested license applications and disciplinary charges.
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Some of the rules were changed from what had been advertised, but the new versions were not available to the public Thursday and won’t be until they’re certified with the Legislative Services Agency. They’ll take effect later this year unless acted upon by the Legislative Council, a panel of state lawmakers.
Navigating requirements
Some of the changes approved Thursday that differ from what was originally proposed included the child-resistant packaging requirement in the law. The board and ABC staff agreed that for hemp-infused beverages, traditional pull tab cans are acceptable and meet federal standards for beverages
Another previously proposed rule said hemp beverages must be in a locked case requiring an employee to obtain the beverages for the consumer.
Retail advocates said that rule would be difficult for small retailers to comply with and the board agreed, eliminating that requirement.
“It would have been extremely costly for small, independent grocers to have an individual who was specifically dedicated to locking and unlocking the cooler section in their store,” Ellie Taylor, president of the Alabama Grocers Association, told Alabama Daily News.
Taylor said she hadn’t seen the board-approved rules Thursday, but was supportive of the changes as she understood them. She also noted other requirements of grocers related to hemp beverages: That they are in a designated area of the store away from products intended for children and behind glass with signage identifying them as hemp products.
The new law says people must be 21 or older to purchase the items.
10% tax on sale of all THC products
Sponsored by Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, the new law imposes a THC cap of 10 milligrams per serving for edibles and beverages, bans any smokable hemp products, prohibits use for those under age 21 and limits THC product availability to specialty shops or dedicated areas of grocery stores of at least 14,000 square feet. It also imposes a 10% tax on the sale of all THC products, establishes a licensing requirement for retailers and imposes severe civil and criminal penalties for retailer violations.
Consumable THC products have become a multibillion-dollar industry since the production and sale of hemp products was legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, an unintended consequence of the federal legislation.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Mary Sell and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
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