Is THCA legal in Alabama? Alabama hemp and CBD laws after HB 445

The law in Alabama

Alabama rewrote its hemp product law in 2025. HB 445 became Act 2025-385, a new Chapter 12 of Title 28 of the Code of Alabama, run by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. The act took effect July 1, 2025, and from January 1, 2026 it governs every consumable hemp product offered for sale in the state.

A consumable hemp product is any finished product for people or animals that contains part of the hemp plant or anything derived from it, CBD included. The law counts both swallowing and applying to skin or hair as consumption, so it reaches edibles, drinks, tinctures, topicals and pet products alike.

Hemp itself is still defined in Section 2-8-381 by delta-9 THC: no more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. The product rules go further. Labs must report total THC, THC plus THCA, and the product limits are written in total THC.

1. May 6, 2025The Legislature gives final passage to HB 445, which becomes Act 2025-385.
2. July 1, 2025Act 2025-385 takes effect, banning smokable hemp and chemically converted cannabinoids.
3. December 15, 2025ABC Board hemp rules take effect, to operate from January 1, 2026.
4. January 1, 2026Licensing, product limits, age 21 and in-store sales govern every hemp product sold in Alabama.
5. December 11, 2026The federal limit of 0.4 mg total THC per container begins.

What is banned outright

Two kinds of product are excluded from the law and declared prohibited in Alabama:

• Smokable hemp. Anything marketed as hemp cigarettes, cigars, joints, buds, flower, leaves or ground flower, whether or not the cannabinoid in it is psychoactive.
• Converted cannabinoids. Products with psychoactive cannabinoids made by chemical synthesis or conversion from another cannabinoid. The law leaves out THC made from THCA by heat or light alone.

Selling or possessing either is a Class C felony under Section 28-12-61, and a product shipped in breach of the law is contraband that may be seized.

Limits, labels and stores

Section 28-12-23 caps THC by product type:

• Edibles and drinks. No more than 10 mg of total THC a serving. Edibles come individually wrapped, and a carton holds no more than 40 mg.
• Drinks. A serving is no more than 12 fluid ounces, and a carton holds no more than four.
• Topicals and sublinguals. No more than 40 mg of total THC in a container.

Each product needs a certificate of analysis from an ISO 17025 lab, child-resistant packaging and a label with a QR code to the lab report, the THC per serving and per container, and a warning that it is not for anyone under 21. A 10 percent excise tax applies at retail.

Only licensed retailers may sell, to adults 21 and older who show ID. The ABC Board issues three licenses: specialty retailers, pharmacies, which may sell only topical and sublingual products, and grocery stores, which may sell only drinks. A license costs $1,000 a year plus a $25,000 bond, after local approval.

No online sales or shipping

Section 28-12-60 makes online sales, direct delivery, drive-through sales and direct shipments of consumable hemp products within or into Alabama unlawful. A direct shipment is one from a producer or retailer straight to an Alabama resident. The purchase must take place on the licensed premises.

Because the law covers CBD as well as THC, the ban reaches CBD tinctures, topicals and pet products sold online, not only THC products. That is why this page lists products with no hemp.

Kratom, amanita and spores

Alabama lists mitragynine and hydroxymitragynine, the main compounds in kratom, in Schedule I (Section 20-2-23). We found no Alabama statute or rule on kava, on amanita muscaria or its compounds, or on mushroom spores by name. Psilocybin and psilocyn are Schedule I.

The federal change on December 11

Alabama's chapter says a federal law enacted after July 1, 2025 that conflicts with it supersedes the conflicting part. From December 11, 2026, the federal definition counts total THC including THCA and limits a finished hemp-derived cannabinoid product to 0.4 mg per container. Read the federal page and What's changing on December 11.

Bills filed in 2026 would have changed the chapter again, but as of November 11, 2026 the Code showed no 2026 amendment to it.