How local businesses are responding to Alabama’s potential hemp ban

On Tuesday, May 6, the Alabama Senate passed House Bill 445 and sent it to Governor Kay Ivey’s desk to be signed into law. If signed, the bill would place new restrictions on the manufacture, regulation and sale of consumable hemp products containing THC or CBD in Alabama.

Bham Now spoke with the owners of several local dispensaries to learn how House Bill 445 will affect their businesses.

For local businesses, House Bill 445 is “a big shock”

For local businessowners Kristin King, Meredith Dameron and Stewart Willard of Kind Times Dispensary, the passing of House Bill 445 is extremely disheartening.

“We opened Kind Times with a simple mission: we wanted to bring good, quality products to the people in downtown Birmingham.

For a small business like ours, it’s incredibly disappointing. We put in the work to abide by everything the state of Alabama mandated, so to have the rug pulled out from under us so suddenly is still a big shock.”

Kristin King, Co-Owner, Kind Times Dispensary

Kind Times Dispensary opened in September 2024, but hemp and certain cannabis derivatives have been legal in Alabama for almost seven years.

On December 20, 2018, President Donald Trump signed H.R.2 – Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018—colloquially known as the Farm Bill—which removed hemp and certain low-concentration cannabis derivatives from the federal controlled substance list, but preserved the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) requirements and standards over all hemp products.

The bill opened the door to an innovative array of hemp-derived products, including pain-relieving CBD products.

“We have a lot of customers who come to Kind Times after cancer treatments looking for a non-pharmaceutical way to treat breakthrough pain. After the House Bill 445 news broke, we were flooded with calls from terrified customers who don’t know how they’re going to manage that pain.”

Stewart Willard, Co-Owner, Kind Times Dispensary

Kind Times isn’t the only dispensary in town worried about House Bill 445’s effect on consumers. John Parker, owner of Southside’s Near to Me CBD, worries that the new bill would push customers to the unregulated black market.

“I worry that people are going to get hurt from this. I’ve been fighting for legislation to put caps on milligrams, because that is reasonable—we don’t have hard liquor available everywhere. But the unintended consequence of this bill will eliminate a safe, regulated market with clean, third-party-tested products.

What will those consumers do? Those with the means will travel to legal states while others will buy non-tested, non-verified products from unregulated sources.”

John Parker, Owner, Near To Me CBD

Parker has been on a mission to safely regulate Alabama’s hemp industry since 2014. In 2023, he wrote and lobbied for AL SB66, which allowed businesses to sell products to adults 21+. This year, he drafted AL SB255, which would regulate—but not ban—products that contain hemp.

“It’s really disappointing to have worked on this for over a decade, only to have this law erase all of our progress. We’ll be priced out of the market, and the additional taxes will put us out of business either way.”

John Parker, Owner, Near To Me CBD

How will Alabama’s hemp ban affect local businesses?

Should Governor Kay Ivey sign House Bill 445, the new law would place stringent restrictions on the products businesses like Near To Me CBD and Kind Times Dispensary sell, and how they are able to sell them.

• Smokeable products, including products like Delta-8, will be banned.
• Online sale, delivery and drive-through sales of these products will be banned.
• Gummies and hemp-infused beverages will be limited in the amount of THC; edible products must be individually wrapped and not exceed 10 mg, while hemp-infused beverages cannot exceed 12 fluid ounces.
• CBD products will only be available in liquor stores or stand-alone CBD/hemp stores.

In addition, the bill outlines a 10-cent excise tax on all hemp-derived products and authorizes the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) board to enforce the requirements.

“If House Bill 445 is signed, we won’t survive. Since we opened, we’ve curated a collection of third-party-tested products from all over the country because we wanted the best of the best. If this law goes into affect, we’ll only be allowed to sell the same small selection of products found in liquor stores.”

Kristin King, Co-Owner, Kind Times Dispensary

Although the passing of House Bill 445 is a hard blow, local businessowners are still fighting for a chance to enact legislation that protects consumers and small businesses.

“Jenni Otwell with Magic City Organics has been keeping us updated on the fight against House Bill 445 and we’ve been urging our customers to call Governor Ivey’s office to urge her to veto the bill.”

Kristin King, Co-Owner, Kind Times Dispensary

How do you feel about the proposed ban on hemp products in Alabama? Tag us @bhamnow to let us know!