"Devastating Blow”: Birmingham Hemp Retailers Warn Alabama’s New THC Law Could Collapse the Industry

Birmingham business owners are sounding the alarm after Governor Kay Ivey signed HB 445, a sweeping hemp regulation law that local entrepreneurs say will cripple Alabama’s hemp industry. The law, effective July 1, 2025, grants the Alabama ABC Board authority over hemp products and bans smokable and vapeable THC products, while tightly restricting edibles to 10mg of THC per serving. Online sales, deliveries, and on-site consumption will also be outlawed. Local dispensaries like Avondale Apothecary and Magic City Organics say they could lose up to 90% of their business, leaving patients and consumers with fewer options. Mayor Randall Woodfin slammed the law, calling it “overregulation that criminalizes” and disproportionately harms Black and brown business owners. Full compliance is required by January 1, 2026.