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Buy a legal product. Get arrested anyway. Welcome to Alabama’s warped justice system.
This isn’t law and order—it’s legalized entrapment.
Walk into a gas station. Pick up a hemp-derived product, pay for it, and leave. By the time you make it to your car, you could be in handcuffs. That’s not a hypothetical—it’s happening across Alabama. Businesses are legally selling these products, yet some district attorneys and law enforcement officers have decided they know better than the law itself. They’ve taken it upon themselves to criminalize people who made a legal purchase, twisting the law into a weapon of selective prosecution.
That’s not justice. It’s a farce.
State lawmakers have an obligation to fix this. Alabama has created a contradiction so absurd it would be laughable if it weren’t ruining lives. Under federal law, businesses can sell hemp-derived THC products. But in certain parts of Alabama, people who buy them are being treated like criminals. It’s not just confusing—it’s a manufactured legal trap.
Imagine stepping up to a store counter, making a purchase, and walking out—only to be arrested moments later. That’s exactly what happened to one Alabama man who bought a Delta-8 pre-roll. The officer had been standing behind him in line. He watched him make the purchase. And then he arrested him for possession of a controlled substance. After spending time and money fighting the charge, the man was acquitted. But not everyone has been so lucky.
This isn’t just inconsistent enforcement—it’s chaos. If a store can legally sell it, a consumer should be able to legally own it. Yet, in Alabama, whether you walk free or end up with a criminal record depends entirely on which county you’re in. That’s not how law is supposed to work.
The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp and its derivatives nationwide, allowing for the sale of products containing less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC. Alabama follows this definition, which means Delta-8, a compound derived from CBD, is not explicitly illegal. But that hasn’t stopped certain prosecutors from treating it as if it were a Schedule I drug. The result? Some Alabamians face criminal charges for products sold openly in stores across the state. In one courtroom, you might be acquitted. In another, you could walk away with a conviction and a permanent criminal record. That kind of legal uncertainty isn’t just bad policy—it’s indefensible.
Alabama doesn’t need to be in the business of manufacturing criminals. It needs to act with purpose and follow the lead of other states that have already addressed this issue with common sense. Florida allows Delta-8 sales but enforces strict age limits, packaging requirements, and lab testing. Kentucky requires licensing and accurate labeling. Even Tennessee—a state known for its strict drug laws—has chosen regulation over criminalization. These states aren’t just protecting consumers; they’re generating millions in tax revenue while ensuring product safety. Meanwhile, Alabama is busy wasting resources prosecuting retail store customers.
This is an unnecessary mess, and lawmakers have a choice to make. They can continue looking the other way while innocent people get caught up in the criminal justice system for buying something they believed was legal, or they can take a rational, market-driven approach by regulating and taxing these products like any other legal commodity. The benefits are obvious. Regulation would protect consumers by requiring testing and accurate labeling. It would allow businesses to operate without the looming threat of law enforcement crackdowns. And it would generate tax revenue that could actually serve the public good instead of funding pointless prosecutions.
But beyond the economics, stopping these arrests is about fairness. No one should face jail time or a criminal record for buying a product legally sold in stores. The criminal justice system should focus on actual threats to public safety—not setting up legal traps for people making routine purchases at convenience stores. Every day lawmakers delay, more Alabamians risk arrest over a manufactured controversy. That is unacceptable.
The Alabama Legislature can’t pretend this problem doesn’t exist. Either they fix this, or they are complicit in a system that punishes law-abiding citizens for following the law.
