HB445 Breakdown: New Alabama Hemp Law Bans Smokable Products Starting July 1
- Jasmine Greene
- Jun 19
- 3 min read
1. Quick Rewind: Who pushed HB445, and how did we get here?
Bill’s Sponsor: Alabama State Representative Andy Whitt officially introduced HB445 and supported it through the process of becoming a law. He framed it as putting “guardrails” on an “unregulated” market, while also admitting it was “a hard bill to pass.”
Governor’s Signature: On May 14, 2025, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed HB445, cementing it into Alabama law, despite a flood of calls and protests urging a veto. Her office offered no detailed explanation for this signature, leaving small businesses and many Alabama residents fuming.
2. HB445 in plain English - the big pieces
Goes live July 1, 2025
Total ban on any hemp you can smoke, including (but not limited to) flower, pre-rolls, vapes, even hemp cigarettes
Smokable hemp possession or sale becomes a Class C felony (up to 10 years in prison / $15,000 fine)
Immediate removal of banned items from shelves
Kicks in January 1, 2026
ABC Board licensing for every Alabama hemp manufacturer, distributor, and retailer
10 mg THC cap per serving & 40 mg THC per package/container
10% excise tax on every consumable hemp sale
Mandatory lab tests, child-proof packaging, no online/delivery/vending or drive-thru sales
Bottom Line: July 1, 2025, flips a switch that outlaws smokable hemp, while the legal path to sell compliant products won’t exist until 2026.
3. What Alabama Attorney General (AG) Steve Marshall just made crystal clear
June 11, 2025, AG Marshall’s office warned that anyone who possesses or sells those newly banned smokable hemp products on or after July 1st “could be prosecuted for a Class C felony.” That leaves zero wiggle room for “grace periods.”
Translation: If it burns, you can’t stock it or possess it. Period. Get it out of your possession or risk felony charges.
4. Why this matters for the local hemp businesses you know and love
Inventory wipeout: Many smaller stores report that 60-80% of their revenue comes from flower or vape products. Losing them overnight could severely decrease the amount of money coming into these businesses, right before it gets more expensive to run the store (due to new licensing and regulations).
Regulatory limbo: Shops must survive six months with fewer products and start saving for ABC fees, new labeling, testing, and the 10% excise tax.
Unequal footing: The law treats smokable hemp more harshly than Alabama’s yet-to-launch medical cannabis program, creating what owners call a “competitive head start” for wealthier, more powerful players (and don’t even get me started on how smokable tobacco is legal in Alabama).
Legal questions incoming: Some industry groups are saying they might take legal action because the rules are unclear. For example, it’s not clear if a high-CBD pre-roll with no Delta-9 THC is allowed or not. So don’t be surprised if this ends up in court this summer, and parts of the law get temporarily blocked.
5. The bigger picture - regulation vs. prohibition
HB445 was sold as “reasonable guardrails,” but critics argue the early felony hammer feels less like a seatbelt and more like a brick wall. By front-loading criminal penalties and back-loading the licensing rules, Alabama has effectively created a half-year prohibition window that:
Punishes mom-and-pop shops while giving multistate operators time to prep for 2026
Pushes consumers toward gray market vendors (OR across state lines OR into the underground illegal market) undermining the bill’s stated youth-protection goal
Signals a regional trend: Similar clap-downs are moving to North Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Louisiana, suggesting the Southeast is closing ranks on hemp
Final Thoughts
HB445 was pitched as consumer protection, but its immediate effect is a felony-level crackdown that targets small businesses first and addresses regulations later. With Gov. Ivey’s signature locked in and AG Marshall sharpening enforcement, Alabama’s hemp retailers have about 2 weeks to pivot - or risk becoming the cautionary tales of a brand-new prohibition era.
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