If you’ve seen products resembling marijuana or gummies with synthetic ingredients in cartoon packaging at gas stations, you likely support legislative efforts to regulate the broad category described as hemp products.

I certainly do, and thankfully, so do our state legislators.

In fact, seven proposals have been filed to outlaw or regulate where these products can be sold.

One of these proposals – known as HB445 – is just one step away from the Governor’s desk. However, HB445 unfortunately groups hemp-based beer alternatives together with inhalable and chewable THC products.

This provision would put the brakes on a product that many responsible adults enjoy as an alternative to alcohol: low-dose hemp beverages. If you’re unfamiliar with them, it’s likely because they aren’t part of the problem our state legislators are trying to solve. These beverages are currently sold in grocery stores and restaurants across the state.

HB 445 would require these drinks to be sold in places that can only sell gummies and liquor and not grocery stores. I have more confidence in my local grocery store to prevent underage sales than in many establishments that could end up selling these products under HB445.

It is no secret that alcohol abuse is a leading driver of many of society’s problems today. According to the CDC, excessive alcohol use causes approximately 178,000 deaths per year.
This number increased by 29% from 2017 to 2021, and individuals who died from excessive alcohol consumption saw their lifespan shortened by an average of 24 years. Almost everyone has a family member or knows someone who has struggled with alcohol abuse.
As a result, many people have turned to hemp-based alternatives because of personal experiences or maybe even health concerns.

It’s crucial to remember that these drinks contain an extremely low dosage of cannabinoids, fundamentally different from inhalable products or high-dose gummies currently on the market. They are not intended to produce a “high.” Instead, they offer an experience similar to a beer without the associated risks. It’s no surprise that the hemp beverage market is rapidly expanding, with demand growing daily.

By lumping these drinks with smokable products and high-dose gummies, state lawmakers would make alcoholic beverages cheaper and more readily available than hemp alternatives.

This is a classic case of the government picking winners and losers and interfering with an emerging market with massive demand. Hemp-based beverages provide a responsible alternative to alcoholic drinks, including beer. It makes no logical sense to permit an establishment to sell beer but prohibit the same establishment from selling low-dose hemp-based beverages.

Let’s not overcomplicate this: these drinks are like beer and should be regulated and sold like beer. We need limits on the THC content in each drink, strict 21-and-up age restrictions, and testing to ensure the safety of the drinks.

I am asking our state lawmakers address the actual problem – gummies, synthetics, smokable products, vapes, and high dose drinks – while allowing Alabamians 21 and over continue enjoying these low-dose drinks responsibly.

Bobby Huffman is a conservative, a resident of Hoover, and father.