Alabama Regulators Approve Hemp Product Rule Despite Opposition From Key Lawmaker

*“Nowhere in the authorizing legislation does it provide for a Responsible
Consumable Hemp Product Program.”*

*By Anna Barrett, Alabama Reflector*

The Alabama Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) Board Thursday approved an
emergency, temporary rule regulating the sale of consumable hemp products,
over the opposition of a state representative who sponsored the law leading
to the regulation.

The rule creates the Responsible Consumable Hemp Product Program and
establishes warnings and fees for violations of the rule.

David Peacock, chief general counsel for the ABC Board, told board members
that on first violation of the rule, retailers would receive a warning, and
distributors would be fined $1,000 on first offense for selling a product
that is not approved by the board.

“If the distributor were to purchase a product from a supplier that was
violative a second time, they would no longer be able to use that supplier
unless they provide to us a corrective action plan that we approve,”
Peacock said.

Peacock did not say what products would be prohibited or allowed, but that
there would be a list of products published on the ABC Board’s website.

Peacock said the rule is needed in accordance with HB 445, sponsored by
Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, which passed the Legislature this spring. The
law, which goes into effect on January 1, requires testing and labeling for
all consumable hemp products and caps THC at 10 milligrams per individually
wrapped product and 40 milligrams per package.

It also requires the ABC Board to license retailers of these products;
restrict retail establishments selling hemp products and impose an excise
tax on consumable hemp products. In October, the ABC Board passed a rule to
implement the law.

The emergency rule passed 2-1 with board member John Knight, a former state
representative, voting against it.

“I’m opposed to it only because I have a problem with the way it was done,”
Knight said.

Whitt, who did not attend Thursday’s meeting, sent the board a letter
Wednesday expressing his opposition to the emergency rule.

“In addition to my concerns about the non-compliance with statutory
guidelines about emergency rules, there are other areas of the proposal
that bother me,” the letter said. “Nowhere in the authorizing legislation
does it provide for a Responsible Consumable Hemp Product Program, such as
that legislatively authorized by Alabama Code Section 28-10-4 in connection
with alcoholic beverages. Therefore, it seems that this proposed regulation
goes beyond statutory authority.”

Whitt said in an interview Thursday afternoon that he had a great
relationship with the board but reiterated his opposition to the rule.

“I think when it comes down to the emergency rulings, it serves a different
purpose than maybe what’s transparent to begin with, maybe a self-serving
group,” he said. “I want to make sure that it doesn’t and that the
legislative process works.”

Curtis Stewart, the board’s administrator, explained that the rule’s
intention is to protect retailers.

“I think it’s important to remember that this rule doesn’t punish, doesn’t
make anything harder for anyone. In fact, it gives the innocent, if you
will, retailer, an avenue to say, ‘Look, I tried to do all I could to
provide quality products,’” Stewart said.

Donna Alexander, executive director of the Alabama Wholesale Beer
Association, expressed opposition to the rule at the meeting.

“This emergency rule does not follow the law the Legislature passed that
Rep. Andy Whitt sponsored,” Alexander said in an interview after the
meeting.

Whitt wrote in his letter that the rule had less severe consequences than
the original bill.

“Penalties imposed by the proposed Emergency Rule for violations are not
congruent with those found in the statute I sponsored but begin at a lesser
level. Again, this is a serious concern,” Whitt wrote.

The rule will expire on April 16. The process of approving a permanent
version of the rule passed the board unanimously. The permanent version
will be up for public comment and changes before final vote and
implementation.

Melissa Morrissette, a board member, said the emergency rule was needed to
protect retailers and consumers until the process of a permanent rule could
play out.

“Starting January 1st, you have this window of time that it’s like the Wild
West,” Morrissette said.

Whitt said he does not foresee any repeal legislation during the 2026
legislative session, which begins on January 13.

*This story was first published by Alabama Reflector.*

*Photo courtesy of Max Jackson.*

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