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Consumable THC products
The Vestavia Hills City Council is considering a moratorium on business licenses to sell consumable hemp products in the city.
Council members during a Monday work session discussed concerns with new state legislation that tightened up requirements for businesses that want to sell consumable hemp products.
Councilwoman Kimberly Cook said the bill passed last year did some good things to fight against dangerous products that had become more prevalent after Congress passed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, which authorized the production of hemp and removed hemp and hemp seeds from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s schedule of controlled substances.
That 2018 “Farm Bill” led to a lot of products being sold that were not labeled appropriately and that contained very intoxicating substances, sometimes labeled as “gas station weed,” Cook said.
While the state law passed last year did require better labeling of products and set limitations on what types of businesses can sell consumable hemp products, it still allows consumable products with 10 milligrams of tetrahydocannabinol, often known as THC, Cook said.
THC is the primary psychoactive cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant and is responsible for the “high” associated with marijuana use. It acts on cannabinoid receptors in the brain, affecting memory, pleasure and coordination, and is used both recreationally and medically.
Ten milligrams of THC is essentially as potent as marijuana and can lead to psychotic episodes and extreme anxiety, Cook said. Poison control centers are getting more calls related to THC usage, she said.
The new state law allows these products to be sold in grocery stores.
“I’m very concerned,” Cook said. “Parents do not want this stuff to be freely available because we all know that if something is easy to get, our kids will get it, especially if it’s intoxicating.”
The new state law also requires that businesses receive approval from municipalities before selling these products but does not establish a process or guidelines by which municipalities are to make decisions as to whether to approve a license or not, City Attorney Pat Boone said.
The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board has 20 pages of regulations that these businesses must follow, but there is no guidance given for municipalities, Boone said.
Cook said she does not have a problem with consumable hemp products made from cannabidiol, frequently known as CBD. CBD is a non-psychoactive compound derived from hemp or marijuana, widely used to manage anxiety, pain and sleep issues, and she doesn’t think it’s harmful.
She knows some people also use CBD products to calm down animals that get disturbed by fireworks on holidays where fireworks are prevalent.
However, state law does not distinguish between the two types of products, Cook said. Her understanding is that cities can either let businesses sell all of these products allowed by state law or none of them, she said.
“If I had to approve or disapprove of a license today, I would vote no on every single one of them because of the 10-milligram products,” Cook said. “I wouldn’t want to do that because I think CBD might have some merit. I want to know what our community thinks about this.”
Vestavia Hills City Clerk Umang Patel said some cities, such as Huntsville and Auburn, already have adopted policies, but other cities, such as Hoover and Pelham, have adopted moratoriums to allow more time to study the issue.
Boone said the state Constitution does not allow municipalities to enact laws that prohibit something that state law allows, but the lack of guidance by state law regarding a process for municipalities to issue licenses makes him want city officials to issue the moratorium and continue to review the matter.
Cook is recommending a moratorium through the end of this year. City Manager Jeff Downes said he hopes to have something official for the council to have for a first reading on April 6 and consideration for a vote on April 20.
Thus far, the city has received only one request for a license to sell consumable hemp products since the state legislation was adopted last year, Downes said.
Editor's note: This story was updated on April 10 to correct the date a vote is likely on the temporary moratorium. That date is April 20.
