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HB445 - Drama in the Statehouse
Recorded: April 7, 2025 Duration: 1:03:47Space Recording
Short Summary
The discussion highlights significant trends and growth in the agricultural and cannabis sectors, emphasizing the importance of community advocacy, legislative engagement, and the push for sustainable practices. Key figures like Jennifer Boozer and Joe Pharrell are leading initiatives to support the hemp industry, while upcoming events like the 420 celebration reflect a growing public interest in cannabis education and rights.
Full Transcription
And with generations of work in East Kalisthan.
My granddaddy worked this soil with pride
But now they're telling me what I can't grow inside
Inside these fields have fed our family for years
Now paper pushers got me fighting back tears
I'm standing here on my own front land
With generations of work in these calloused hands
They say it ain't right, they say it ain't clean but nature gave us
everything we need let it grow wild and free like the good lord meant it to be We'll be right back. Came together like the ringing of a bell We all got roots in this sacred ground
Won't let them suits push us around
Ain't asking much, just let us be
To work this land like our families
Let it grow wild and free
Like the good Lord meant it to be
They can write their laws
They can make their rules
But they can't take away
What nature gave me and you
Stand up, rise, no time to make our stand
This is our ride, this is our land.
Now we're marching down to the county hall.
United voices rising tall.
Got petitions signed by every farm.
Showing them we mean no harm.
This ain't about just you and me.
It's about every farmer trying to be free.
When we stand together, Ain't no doubt.
That's what freedom's all about.
Let it grow wild and free like a good Lord.
Man, it to be.
Miniature Green We'll be right back. Well, I heard Mr. Young saying about her.
Man, it to be.
Said Southern land don't need him around any high.
But sweet home, Cannabama's got a different sound.
Where cannabis knowledge is spring all over town.
Jennifer Boozer's on the airwaves, you know it's true.
FM, tough one, or so, spawn five.
She's got the crew talking about hemp and CBD.
We're the rebel, yeah.
Educating folks and doing it well.
Sweet home, Catamama, where the weed grows high.
Sweet home, Catamama, beneath the southern sky.
Sweet home, Catamabama where the knowledge flows
sweet home canabama where the good times grow now citizen green tv saw something special yeah
invited sweet home canabama to this sphere. Reaching vets with wellness, that's their aim.
Spreading the word, easing the pain.
M.J. Discox calling, they recognize the fame.
Sweet Home Canabama's gonna play the game.
With these attentions and connections, they'll take the stage.
A new era's dawn, then turn to the new page.
Sweet Home Canabama, where the weed grows high
Sweet home, Canabama, beneath the southern sky
Sweet home, Canabama, where the knowledge flows
Sweet home, Canabama, where the good times grow.
From Mobile, Alabama, the message rings so clear.
Cannabis education casts away the fear.
With every broadcast, a seed they sow.
Sweet home, Canabama, hell for good times grow.
Sweet home, Canabama, help the good times grow. Sweet home, Canabama, where the weed grows high.
Sweet home, Canabama, beneath the southern sky.
Sweet home, Canabama, where the knowledge flows.
Sweet home, Canabama, where the good times grow Roll on, Canabama, roll on
Spread the word, let your freedom so be known
Sweet home, Canabama, yeah Take Yourself He's got you down and there's too much pain in your feet.
Gotta lay down there and got everything you need.
Let me tell them I cannot bear my queen.
She'll turn that drown upside down.
Tell that old headache to pack up and head out of town Move over our priders cause you ain't what I need
Take me to the can of them are queen
Take me down to the Canabama Queen
Oh good lord, take me down to the Canabama Queen
She's got every style of CBD
Take me to the can I'll bear my queen
Take me to see it baby
God save the queen
Belief and the law
Standing strong
Standing tall From the roots to the rules Belief and the law, standing strong, standing tall.
From the roots to the rules, we uncover it all.
Truth and justice, the plan's divine.
Canabama's here? It's education time.
Jennifer Boozer.
Welcome to the show, everybody.
I'm your host, Jennifer Boozer,
owner and founder of Canabama and Downtown Mobile.
We are located at 558 St. Francis Street.
Our phone number is 251-255-5155.
Our website is canabama.com.
Our social media is all Sweet Home Canabama. Facebook,
Instagram, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, all that good stuff. And you can find us on Citizen Green
TV, which is located on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon. I wore this shirt tonight. I want to go
ahead and just tell y'all my shirt story before I even introduce our guest. Y'all
know how much I hate us being called the Wild Wild West. And we've heard some really erroneous
things, especially this session. And Representative Witt on Wednesday even called us the Wild Wild
West. And Senator Melson had said previously that the farm bill was originally just intended
for rope and not consumable. So when I walked into a store on my birthday Thursday and saw this
t-shirt, I hope y'all can see it. Can they see it? It says Wild West cowgirl and the word cowgirls
in rope. So I wore this in honor of Representative Witt and Senator Nelson.
So I want to go ahead.
Man, we got to take our licks where we can, okay?
This is fun.
I want to go ahead and introduce our guest, Joe Pharrell.
Joe, welcome to the show.
Joe, you are with the Alabama Hemp and Vape Association.
I believe you're on the board.
Yes, ma'am.
All right.
Tell us a little bit about that and about, well, let's talk about the Hemp and Vape Association. I believe you're on the board. Yes, ma'am. All right. Tell us a little bit about that and about, well, let's talk about the Hemp and Vape Association and we'll talk
about you. All right. So the Alabama Hemp and Vape Association is a non-profit 501c6 registered
trade organization dedicated to representing and supporting the hemp and vape industry in Alabama.
Our board of directors is comprised of store owners, farmers,
manufacturers, and who are directly involved in the industry. We advocate for rights and interests
of retailers, farmers, manufacturers, and consumers across the state. Our mission includes promoting
responsible practices, advocating legislative efforts, and ensuring a sustainable and fair
marketplace. To further our goals, we employ
professional lobbyists who work on our behalf in Montgomery to engage with lawmakers and influence
policy that affects our industry. And you yourself go and meet with these senators and representatives
all the time. Yes, ma'am. And you have for years. Yes, ma'am. So you, I mean, this has been the most
intense session for me. I've been up there several times, but never like this.
But is this a lot?
Okay.
Just making sure it's not just me.
Way worse.
Okay.
And then, so you own some shops, right?
Tell us what you do in the industry.
I've been in the vape industry for, since 2015.
And back when vape conventions were a thing, we went to vape conventions.
Right.
In 2018, we were at a vape convention, and we were introduced to CBD.
Didn't know much about it.
We looked into it.
We researched it.
We realized it was a better alternative than pharmaceuticals and other things.
So we decided we wanted to get in the CBD industry also.
So we opened our first store in 2019, which is called Tree Life Wellness.
And then the single location grew into four other locations over time.
And here we are today.
Right.
And I just saw one of your shops.
I was going to the Tanger outlet and you guys have a shop in there.
We did.
Okay.
We did.
We sold it last year.
Okay.
So, but there is still a CBD store. There is still a Okay. We did. We sold it last year. Okay.
But there is still a CBD store. There is still a CBD store.
Well, I just assumed that was still you.
No, ma'am.
And so you have a law enforcement background.
Yes, ma'am.
Tell us a little bit about that.
For about 18 years of my life, I was a firefighter, EMT, and a police officer.
Most of my time as a police officer, I worked narcotics.
Interesting. And what about specifically marijuana? Tell me about that.
Yes. So I was a certified expert witness in testing of marijuana in the state of Georgia.
So at that time, the crime lab in Georgia would only test if you had a trafficking amount,
which was 50 pounds. Anything under 50 pounds, they would send to me and I would test it.
I would do the state administered test to test marijuana. Okay. So you knew about the plant and
all of the chemicals and all of those things long before you got into this industry. So you went
into this with a law enforcement narcotics background, and that experience, plus what you knew specifically about,
well, we want to call it cannabis, but yes, they call it marijuana.
So I didn't realize that. I knew that you had a law enforcement background, but I did not realize
it was specifically dealing with marijuana. So that's very interesting. And I think that's
probably why you're so good at this. Thank you.
Okay.
So a little bit about current events.
Obviously 420 is coming up.
420 Cannabama will be our fourth annual event on 419. That will be from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Joe will actually be here with one of his other businesses.
Right.
Tell us about Dr. Snow.
So Dr. Snow is the shaved ice trailer we have.
We serve shaved ice, boba tea,
hot dogs, and pretzels. Nice. So we're going to have all of that. Joe will be with us on 420
at Cannabama, so we're really excited about that. We're going to be having it at Cannabama. We're
going to have a block party again. So we've got all our paperwork turned into the city to close
down the street and have a party. Free admission. It's family
friendly, pet friendly. We'll have food, music, vendors, games. Of course, we bring back the
blunt rolling contest every year. So you want to get signed up for that. We've got great sponsors
for that this year. We're going to have some speakers, giveaways. This year year we're going to focus so much on advocacy and activism because
obviously we have had to go and fight these vape bills before uh because they included cbd in the
definition of an eliquid and that that's one of the bills that's coming up this week for a vote
and uh is that hb8 it is hb8. And so that is continuing to be a problem for us.
But we've also got seven hemp bills we've been dealing with this year so far.
And I think if you include 182, that might be eight.
Yeah, it is.
It is eight.
Which is a lot for a tiny little poor state like Alabama.
So, yeah.
So after 420, there is a comedy show that our friends at Healthy
Harvest and Ocean Jones are sponsoring at Cedar Street Social Club. So that's a block away from
where we are. We're gonna end our event in time for everybody to get to that event is $10 adults
only, obviously. But the first 100 people that show up and pay 10 bucks get a free pre-roll
and my pre-rolls cost more than 10 bucks so that's a really good deal for the first 100 people
um so thank you to ocean and cedar street social uh for that event as well that's going to kind of
be where i go to relax and let somebody else be in charge right um and then of course, we have four 20 events all over the state. I know there's the four 20 camp out in Springville at in Huntsville.
Jay Hightower's event at the Green Lady, I believe. David's Gallery in Gulf Shores has an event.
There are sales events at Freedom CBD in Tuscaloosa. Sun Med and Orange Beach.
I'm sure you guys are going to have big sales and stuff at the store as well. All of our friends around the state. And if anybody's watching and having
a 420 event or sale, you want to let the people know, throw it in the comments. Let us know,
tag the show. We'd be happy to help you guys out. Everybody should go to a 420 event in their area
if you can. This year, like I said, is the most important.
The voices of the people are being heard.
These legislators have said they've got flooded with emails and calls.
So I think if it goes like it goes every other year where we get together, we have a great time.
We don't have alcohol at all, so don't even try.
And we just have a good time as adults,
and we go home, and it's great every year, and nothing bad ever happens. The cops actually
thank us at the end. We want to do that again because there's no way. There's a huge disconnect
between what the people want and what these legislators are saying, and we want to show that
nobody wants this, you know, and I think that's what's important
about these 420 events, and I'm so glad that we've set all this in motion years ago so that we would
be able to do all this, so thank you again for helping us participate with that. Before we get
into HB 445, there's a whole lot going on today. Texas has SB3 and they are still, as far as we know, they are still hearing testimony. They have not voted today. I may be wrong. I tried to look and ask around, but nobody had any real answers. And they've had over 200 people show up to testify at every hearing.
It's really amazing to see citizens as well as business owners come together from all over the state and come to Austin and give their testimony every time.
And we'll be at Texas Hempstock to commune with those people and get to commiserate in our state's situations.
Arkansas is considering bills that add 50% tax on hemp products,
a one milligram THC cap, $5,000 license fees per location.
I want you to keep your records for 10 years.
They want you to keep your records for 10 years. That's like three longer than the IRS.
That's like three longer than the IRS.
Right.
And they both go to the house on Wednesday in Arkansas.
When we come back from the break, we're going to get into the mess in Alabama right here with Joe Farrell.
Stay with us. at canabama we believe that cbd is for everyone our demographic is human there's no race age
gender socioeconomic education or religious difference in our chemical and electrical systems.
Let no human be excluded.
We work hard to create an environment of learning.
Our goal is to bring together all people in need of help.
While celebrating each moment of relief, educate, advocate, unify, and celebrate.
Find us at Canabama.com, Facebook, and Instagram.
Hey, Alabama football fans.
Are you headed up to T-Town this fall for the game? Facebook and Instagram. of products in West Alabama and are ready to hemp you out with all your tailgate needs.
Follow Freedom CBD and Wellness on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Roll Tide!
Native Black Cultivation is a true pioneer in Alabama's cannabis industry.
As the first medical cannabis company to harvest in the state,
they're committed to producing quality, sustainable cannabis.
Native Black Cultivation blends integrity, innovation, and inclusivity to ensure every product from the farm meets the highest standard of quality and safety.
Their mission extends beyond cultivation, focusing on social and economic change through education and community engagement.
Visit NativeBlackCultivation.com to learn more. Mullins Lobbyist Firm is Alabama's frontline lobbyist team specializing in cannabis, autism, epilepsy, and small business. We fight for
you in Montgomery. For information on current and future federal and state legislation, including
S-4226 Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act and S-980 Industrial HIP Act Farm Bill 2024,
visit the website mullinslobbyistFirm.com and follow us on social media.
Is there a cause or issue you want to see changed or would like to get support for?
Let us help you. Email al4MedicalCannabisFreedom at gmail.com.
Welcome back to Sweet Home Cannabama. Now with all the information you want about cannabis, here's your host, Jennifer Boozer.
Welcome back, everybody.
I'm here with our guest, Joe Farrell, today from the Alabama Hemp and Vape Association.
I just wanted to mention something that kind of clicked.
I don't know why it took so long.
But today, after I was speaking with Amy and Roger about Arkansas, this is Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 deja vu. Is it not?
Seems like it. I mean, like they took the word ban out. Right. And all these bills in all these
states, none of them say ban. Well, most of them, some of ours do. Right. But most of them don't
say the word ban. But the law makes it absolutely impossible to remain in business, just like the tax act
made it too expensive to grow hemp, and it was abandoned. You know, it was a major part
of American pharmacopoeia in the late 1800s, early 1900s, and then they named it marijuana,
so the AMA didn't know what that was was and by the time it was done it was
done you know and they had to abandon the crop and it disappeared overnight that's why hemp seems new
hemp is not new cannabis was around i mean we have 5 000 year old chinese farming records
you know this has been around longer than us and it's's not new. It's just new to the market, I guess, in the U.S., whatever.
It's certainly not new. Right. But this is this is exactly what's happening.
They're not banning it, but they're making it so impossible to stay in business.
You know, Senator Govan, even after he called us dope or no, before he called us dope pushers, you know, he explained, well, you know, it started as a ban and then we substitute it.
And so we're letting them stay in business and they're still complaining about democracy or something.
We call it a backdoor ban.
Yeah, exactly. Call it what it is. Let's be honest.
So, all right, let's let's summarize four, four, five again.
I mean, because I'm getting tired of talking about this.
Let's start with, well, this was sponsored by Representative Andy Witt.
Correct.
And I believe that one of us, all of us should go in together and nominate him for an Oscar for Best actor and a drama for wearing blue plastic gloves,
surgical gloves, I guess, to handle an unopened can of,
of seltzer and an unopened bag of gummies.
I thought if you could get high from touching a gummy,
we'd all be way richer right now.
That was the goal. I mean, come on. That was so,
it was insultingly dramatic to me.
And I wasn't even in the room. I didn't get to go in. They slammed the door in my face. I was next in line, but I was glad because I watched it on my phone from outside.
And less than two minutes in, I knew that that was God that shut that door because I could not have handled sitting in that room and listening to some of the stuff.
We're going to talk about that in a minute. But 445 has a THC limit. Yes. Five milligrams per
serving for products like gummies and beverages. Correct. I mean, do you sell five milligram
gummies? Not a one. Not a single one. Not anything five milligram. Well, no, I do have some CBD gummies that have a five milligram
of THC added to it with CBG, things like that. But I don't have a five milligram THC anything
except the Delta beverages. I do have some fives, but most of my product, they start at 10.
Right. Everywhere starts at 10. And that's the minimum. And then you, yeah. Okay. So it would
cap our products at five milligrams per serving.
It bans smokable flour and vapable.
Let's talk about that.
I'm going to let you.
No flour, no vapes.
Yeah.
Only gummies.
And it's a single serving gummy individually wrapped.
Right.
Individually wrapped.
One five milligram gummy in an individual wrapping.
Yeah.
That's a pain in the behind if you want to buy a 10-pack or a 20-pack.
I mean –
What about people that want relief quickly?
They want to vape it.
They want to smoke it.
They don't want to ingest it and wait.
The bioavailability and the uptake on inhalation is by far the fastest,
about three seconds to the blood-brain barrier.
That is why people love inhalation.
It is immediate relief.
A lot of people – that's why people wake and bake.
They call it wake and bake.
They get up and they smoke first.
Why, when I was a chronic pain patient and on pain pills,
I would wake up in the morning, could hardly move
until I had that pain pill down my gullet
and some coffee at 30 minutes later.
That's how people with chronic conditions, when it's been 10, 12 hours, since you've had any medicine, you wake up feeling
terrible, you know? And so they do, I mean, I know people that keep a vape beside their bed.
Oh yeah. So they can get out of bed, you know, because they refuse to take narcotics. So that's,
I mean, they're, they're doing that. I think they're doing that because our medical cannabis
program will not have smokable flour or vapable. So y'all can debate that in the comments.
Of course, it limits at 21 and only locations. So you would have to be 21 to enter the building.
Right now, it's 21 to purchase, not 21 to enter. And then it places us under the ABC board. So, you know, I mean,
all of these things, I mean, there's a ton of other things in this bill. There's the ENDS
registries that they've tried to throw at us and all of these qualifications and testing,
record keeping, warrantless seizures, all these things that, again, not even the alcohol industry has nearly these restrictions.
So, I mean, would this be, would you be able to stay in business under 445 as it is written?
Not at all.
Not at all?
None of these bills, none of these bills, no matter what amendment they put in there,
those things that they will not let go of are the ones that
are going to put us out of business. Correct. It's interesting that they're not so much like
an SB 55. 255. Oh, sorry. 255. Yes. There's so many numbers. There are. SB 255 doesn't mention
anything specific about drinks versus this or that.
Because most of the bills have drinks over here.
Right.
And everything else over here is if the THC and drinks is different somehow or the process is different.
It's not.
I mean, one might be water, soil versus oil based, but that's semantics.
based, but that's semantics. It's the same stuff. So I find it interesting that the last three
Right.
It's the same stuff.
bills, SB 255 and the two banned bills that we haven't even gotten to yet, the new ones,
none of them distinguish. The only thing SB 255 distinguishes is that hemp products can't be sold
in any establishment that sells alcohol or serves alcohol.
So that's interesting because we know the drinks are being fought over because they want them in restaurants.
They want them in bars. They want them in country clubs and private party events and stuff like that.
They have been for a while now. And so nobody, nobody but these legislators sees an issue here.
Right. So I think that's what
we're getting into now okay let's go and talk about uh real quickly 255 we met uh we had a
hearing there as well we did and uh that bill was live we could live with that one that one
made sense yeah it had a lot of gaping holes in it.
And we knew that the holes that were there, they were going to try to fill them with the same legislation.
Now we hear after it passed out of committee that Senator Smitherman plans to work with Senator Melson and Representative Witt to combine all three.
Melson and Representative Witt to combine all three. That's where it derailed for me because of
all of the weeks and weeks we've spent with Senator Melson and now the absolute insulting
hearing we had with Representative Witt. I don't see any good coming from Senator Smitherman meeting
with them and taking any input from them at all.
They have said things and done things that are not okay, that are untrue, that are slanderous even.
And I just don't see anything good coming out of that. Do you?
Not at all.
No, I mean, we know what they want and they're going to do anything to make that happen.
We know what they want and they're going to do anything to make that happen.
So we have also SB 273 sponsored by Senator April Weaver.
Basically, anything psychoactive is banned and anything else like CBD, CBG, CBN will only be available in pharmacies. That's the bill. Correct. Um,
I'm not sure why pharmacies seem to be so trusted. All the pharmacies I go into, I, that's where I
got all my pain pills from multiple doctors at once, all that stuff. Y'all, I mean, y'all know
my history with that, but they also sell alcohol. They nicotine they sell cough syrup that's made to
use meth uh or or or cold pills and stuff um they also sell children's toys and supplies and candy
and all that so um i'm not sure why pharmacies are the golden standard here because i always found it
ironic that they sold cigarettes and sugar.
But, you know, no one talks to me about these things.
I don't see much coming from that.
I mean, the ban bills aren't going to go with the public, obviously.
And then the most horrible one is one we are going to be in a hearing for on 274.
That is SB 274, Senator Dan Roberts. It is just a complete ban on psychoactive hemp
and only allows the use of THC
through the existing medical cannabis program.
It's pretty much SB 133.
And they say existing like it's actually a thing because...
Yeah. By the way,
speaking of which, new lawsuit. April 4th, I believe, a new lawsuit. Alabama always filed
against, I guess it's the commission. Correct. Because they don't believe that the commission
should be trusted and they want to start all over in the process. So here we go. We thought that the
TRO being lifted was going to move things forward and now we've got another lawsuit. So maybe they
should leave us alone and let us continue to serve the people of Alabama because that's all we're
trying to do. And so yeah, these are two bans. We haven't gone to any hearings on these so far, but I mean.
Wednesday at 2 o'clock.
Wednesday at 2 o'clock for SB 274, which is the total ban.
And we don't have any hearings set yet for 273.
Not yet.
And we do not know when we will see 255.
It's next up for a vote on the House floor.
Is it? I mean on the Senate
floor, I'm sorry. So when is
that? Do we know? We don't know.
Someone has to put it on the schedule.
Okay, so it's not on the calendar yet,
but it is coming. I guess they probably
need more than three days.
I don't know.
I don't know. They'll probably hand out that bill
hot off the press again, 20
minutes into the meeting.
When we come back, we're going to talk more with Joe Farrell.
Stay with us.
FM Talk 1065, the Gulf Coast Weather Authority and Dr. Bill Williams.
The Gulf Coast can expect the skies tonight.
It will be cool with low temperatures in the low to mid 40s at daybreak.
For Tuesday, sunny with highs of the lower 70s.
And the outlook for Wednesday, sunny again with highs of the lower 70s.
This is meteorologist Dr. Bill Williams for FM Talk 1065.
FM Talk 1065, the Gulf Coast Weather Authority.
Hello, everyone. I'm Roseanne Haven from WKRG News 5.
A lot of flooding after all the rain we've gotten recently.
Sticks River that often floods when we get a lot of rain in Baldwin County continuing to rise.
Fish River has crested and begun to recede. However, Fish River has been flowing over County Road 48,
forcing it to close as well as Langford Road.
Homes have flooded in Daphne's Lake Forest neighborhood.
In Mobile, police report 46 calls for water rescues yesterday and today.
Are you looking to sail out of Mobile?
Carnival Cruise Line announcing year-round operations from the Port of Mobile will resume in the spring of 2027.
The Carnival Spirit sails out of Mobile six months out of the year and will return to the Port City in October.
I'm Roseanne Haven from WKRkrg news 5 local coverage you can count on
hey alabama football fans are you headed up to t-town this fall for the game if you forget to
come by cannabana first you can shop at tuscaloosa's first hemp dispensary freedom cbd and wellness on
15th street just a mile up from campus.
They have the largest selection of products in West Alabama
and are ready to hemp you out with all your tailgate needs.
Follow Freedom CBD and Wellness on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Roll Tide!
Native Black Cultivation is a true pioneer in Alabama's cannabis industry.
As the first medical cannabis company to harvest in the state,
they're committed to producing quality, sustainable cannabis.
Native Black Cultivation blends integrity, innovation, and inclusivity
to ensure every product from the farm meets the highest standard of quality and safety.
Their mission extends beyond cultivation, focusing on social and economic change
through education and community engagement.
Visit NativeBlackCultivation.com to learn more.
Mullins Lobbyist Firm is Alabama's frontline lobbyist team specializing in cannabis, autism, epilepsy, and small business.
We fight for you in Montgomery. In future federal and state legislation, including S-4226 Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act and S-980 Industrial Hemp Act Farm Bill 2024, visit the website MullinsLobbyistFirm.com and follow us on social media.
Is there a cause or issue you want to see changed or would like to get support for?
Let us help you.
Email al4MedicalCannabisFreedom at gmail.com.
At Cannabella, we believe that CBD is for everyone.
Our demographic is human.
There's no race, age, gender, socioeconomic, education, or religious difference in our chemical and electrical systems.
Let no human be excluded.
We work hard to create an environment of learning.
Our goal is to bring together all people in need of help.
While celebrating each moment of relief, educate, advocate, unify, and celebrate.
Find us at Cannabama.com, Facebook, and Instagram.
Welcome back to Sweet Home Cannabama. Now with all the information you want about cannabis,
here's your host, Jennifer Booser. Welcome back to the show, everybody. here's your host Jennifer Booser welcome back to the show
everybody I'm your host Jennifer Booser and we are here on Sweet Home Cannabama live on FM Talk
106.5 every Monday night at 7 you can catch us on Facebook Instagram X YouTube and on Citizen
Green TV tonight I'm sitting here with Joe Farrell who is on the board of the Alabama Hemp and Vape Association.
They are going to bat for us, whether we're there or not.
So we appreciate them.
And I want to give them a shout out.
All the guys, Megan, you're doing a great job, honey.
I know it's hard, but everybody this year, we have been able to come together as an industry like never before. And I'm so, so thankful and so proud because I knew of most of you guys,
but didn't know, know you and just know, knowing you now and getting to see your, your, your
businesses and operation and your passion and your fight, man, it makes me feel so much better.
I think I sent a voice text to the group balling on the phone saying, don't make fun of me, but y'all, I'm so happy that I have friends.
But anyway, so, but we've had,
we've had to come together.
We've had so much opposition.
And I want to mention too,
specifically Amy and Roger,
because they are getting it from Arkansas like crazy.
And then having to travel back from Little Rock,
sometimes overnight and be in Montgomery or the opposite.
And that is so tough. And just having to go up there, you know, we got to go up there overnight this week.
We've got one. We've got the hearing. Well, the vote for 445 will be at four o'clock on Tuesday.
And then the the hearing for 274, we've called for a public hearing.
I don't know if they've given us one yet or not.
Last checked, it hadn't said they was.
Okay.
Well, we don't know if we'll get to speak or not, but that will be at 2 o'clock on Wednesday this week.
And like we said, those are the only bills that we know of that are being heard or voted on.
The vape bill will be Wednesday at 1.30 1 30 i think one right before man a vote on it
just a vote they're trying to split us up there you go they're trying to split us up y'all so we
need everybody there um and if you're listening and you are a hemp dispensary grower processor
in alabama and have never contacted us or come to the statehouse or are intimidated to do so.
Dude, nobody is less educated and experienced at this than me.
I just asked Joe, can I please follow you around and listen?
Because it is very intimidating.
We get that.
But if you want to help, please show up.
Man, this is the time.
Show up.
We will walk you through it.
I will hold your stinking hand like
physically if that's what you need but we have got to come and show out like texas we really do
because like i said they're hearing from the people and emails and calls and and we've we
we had good press but sam gavan was right when they changed those bill numbers up like crazy
every week it's hard for people to keep up and now they're getting confused.
And so they are literally doing that to you, the voters, the citizens who they work for to trick you so you won't be able to make your voice heard.
So it's more important than ever to pay attention to these bill numbers.
I'm I'm confusing them. and this is what I live and
breathe. So please help us keep that up. I want to go ahead and get into the drama of this week,
and let's go through some of the things that were said. There is a live stream YouTube link
to this meeting. You'll be able to go and hear these things for yourself.
We're not saying anything that we are assuming or guessing on, or we heard it here.
We heard it from the man himself. Very much so. So at the beginning, like I said,
less than two minutes in and I was ready to scream. He said specifically that he had been
working on this bill for nine months. Why don't you believe that?
Normally it would be pre-filed before the 2025 legislative session.
He'd been working on it nine months.
Right.
And the House bill number is 445.
Right.
So why such a high number?
Right.
Working on it.
Let me ask this for clarification.
When they file bills, they start with number one.
Correct.
And they go up sequentially. Yes. So 444 other bills were filed in the House alone before this bill.
This bill was introduced on 318 of 25. Okay. So March 18th. So less than a month ago. All right.
Okay. Maybe he did, but maybe he said something at the end that makes us believe
even more that he didn't um he said that we were putting profits over people and he specifically
said this comes down to profits over health right as if we were the ones that were just trying to
make money no matter what and that they were the ones concerned with the health of people in alabama yeah um i got into it to help people i don't know
about most people but well i mean we barely have a profit margin anyway right the products are so
expensive that if you can't mark them up like typical retail products first of all you know
when you buy something for 20 bucks it it costs that store like $2.
But that is not the case in hemp.
We just can't.
So we, like me, I haven't raised my prices through this entire economic nightmare since COVID.
I've not gone up.
In fact, I found a way to get my own gummies made and reduce the price for my customers to make it more accessible.
And I know everybody that I stand alongside feels that same way.
We don't make a ton of money.
We just don't.
You know, since when did having a mom and pop shop mean you were wealthy?
Yeah, we just want to keep the lights on, keep the store open.
Right.
And after what you told me, your rent is across the bay.
Woo!
Lord!
It's like twice mine.
Anyway, I don't know. Maybe you need to teach me how to make more money. But you're right. Most of us got into this because we had a personal
health issue or someone that we love or that we know well had an issue. You found it at an expo
for people who were looking to help people quit cigarettes. You found CBD there and that's
where it piqued your interest. I don't care who you are. When you don't know it exists and you
find out about it and then you try it, you cannot not talk about it. You cannot not know this.
I mean, I was compelled. I'm compelled everywhere I go. It's probably really annoying.
compelled. I'm compelled everywhere I go. It's probably really annoying. But anyway,
none of us got into this because we said, oh, that looks easy. No, we're in Alabama. We knew
getting into this that eventually, I mean, I've had all sorts of things happen, you know, and I
know the DA in Mobile wanted my head on a pike until she retired. But we are not breaking the
law. In order to call us unregulated, we have to be breaking, you know, unregulated means there's no rules.
Right. And that is absolutely unequivocally untrue. We have rules. We follow them. We've said this from the beginning.
We'd like a few more rules so they'll stop saying, wow, wow, West. I swear it's the most unoriginal thing on the planet.
It really is. Every time somebody says that, I respect them less because it's the most unoriginal thing on the planet. It really is. Every time somebody
says that, I respect them less because it's just cheap. He also called hemp dope. He did.
Would you like to tell us what the definition of the word dope is? The definition of dope is an
illicit drug such as heroin or cocaine used for its intoxicating or euphoric effects.
Right.
Again, there's the heroin comparison.
Right.
Not even close people.
In fact, I have helped people get off of those two drugs, even Kratom.
Right.
You know, Amy mentioned that Arkansas, in Arkansas, because it's banned here, Kratom is banned here in Alabama.
There's like two states, but Arkansas, it's a controlled substance.
They're now trying to legalize, and there are numerous deaths, recorded deaths.
I personally know someone in Louisiana who died partially because of Kratom.
It was a lot in his system, and that had to have been. He was a healthy 38-year-old male.
Yeah, but they won't.
And he literally fell over into the lake where he was fishing with his daughter and drowned.
You know, and there was no other explanation.
They did an autopsy.
So this is crazy that Arkansas is trying to ban hemp
but legalize something that's already considered a controlled substance
and has a death rate. Again, I feel so sorry for them. So let's talk about poison control.
40% of their calls were for children under six years old.
Correct.
You know any six-year-olds who can drive do not do you know
any who have wallets full of money not at all have you ever sold to a six-year-old or a four-year-old
because it said the average was six no not at all i don't know why that even matters uh Carmelo pointed out that their stats accounted for, what was it, 0.0018%
of the entire population of minors in Alabama.
So my thing was he got out there and talked about how many 40% of children were under the age of six,
but he didn't mention how many parents were arrested for chemical endangerment of a child
for allowing their kids to get a hold of these products that should have been secured.
That's right. And there is a law. Chemical endangerment of a child.
Yes, you can be arrested and go to jail if you knowingly leave stuff out for your kids that they can get.
I mean, I'm sure that you could, if for drugs, even for chemicals under your sink.
Mainly, mainly for drugs even for chemicals under your sink mainly mainly for
drugs i'm sure it's mainly for drugs but yeah i mean there's a there's an element of parental
responsibility because six-year-olds don't drive no we are not selling to six-year-olds and i'm
willing to guess that even the guys who do sell the 18 and 16 year olds don't sell to six-year-olds
how did the six year old get there
if they were to buy it? That makes no sense. So then all that's left is parental responsibility.
And if they're willing to leave their gummies out, I'm sure they're willing to leave their vodka out
too. There you go. You know, so I mean, if I had my stuff out and my kid was getting high at six
years old, you know, you should be arrested. I should be arrested. and my kid was getting high at six years old, you know.
You should be arrested.
I should be arrested.
That's exactly right.
Or at least DHR, look into it.
You know, is it a safe place to be because this kid was able to get a hold of something that they shouldn't have?
You know, again, I just, I don't understand why they would mention minors that are 10 years from a driver's license.
You know, they're trying to make us look bad.
Right.
They're painting the picture.
But they're making themselves look bad.
Right.
Because this is just dumb.
I'm sorry.
I know y'all got elected and you're more important than me, but that's just dumb.
I'm tired of not calling it like I see it.
You know, I don't know what it's going to take.
I mean, there's a disconnect, like I said,
between what the public wants
and what these legislators are saying.
And when we have press, it's scathing.
I just can't imagine some of the emails
are pretty nasty too,
but we don't even know if anybody's reading them.
No, we don't know.
And I know sometimes they get kicked back.
Is it time for a break, Phil? Is that why you're looking at me like that?
So, yes, parental responsibility is the main issue there. And then the next thing I kind
of want to say for after the break, because it's a Whopper. But let's see.
What else? Oh, well, there's another Whopper.
That a 50 milligram gummy is equal to a bottle of 80 proof vodka.
Right.
I'm going to let that hang in the air for a second.
And honestly, I looked at the girl that was outside with me listening and I said, bro, I had 100 at lunch.
Like seriously, a bottle of 80-proof vodka.
When we come back from the break, we'll have more on 445.
Stay with us.
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and TikTok. Roll Tide. Welcome back to Sweet Home Cannabama. Now with all the information you want
about cannabis, here's your host, Jennifer Boozer.
Welcome back, everybody.
Tonight we're talking about HB 445 and the litany of other bills we are dealing with in Alabama with Joe Farrell of the Alabama Hemp and Vape Trade Association.
I'm sorry, Alabama Hemp and Vape Association.
Before the break, I said that Representative Witt said a 50 milligram THigram THC gummy is equal to a bottle of 80-proof vodka per the CDC.
Why don't you read what you said?
We looked that up and found out what it said was it's difficult to make an exact comparison between 50 milligrams of THC and 80-proof vodka due to individual sensitivity and varying product
strengths. A 50 milligram THC dose is generally considered a strong dose comparable to the
intoxication level of drinking a bottle of wine. Yes. So once again, we're fear mongering,
right? Because he took that, that, that came straight from their website, right? Correct.
He took that and said 50 milligrams is like a whole bottle of vodka.
I mean, why are we even listening to these people anymore?
I don't understand.
They cannot get a single statistic, a single statement correct.
It's just, it's all inflammatory.
And I just, we just read you exactly what their website actually says
it compares it to a bottle of wine now yes if a first time user takes 50 milligrams of thc it's
going to feel like you drank a whole bottle of wine if you don't normally drink wine but if you
have two glasses every night not even close but we're still not talking about it being comparable to an entire bottle of vodka
it said comparison between 50 milligrams and and 80 proof vodka not a whole bottle
you know they're talking about how many shots of vodka equals and that's not at all what they said
um it just goes he's trying to paint that picture again Right. He's trying to say, oh, my God,
it's like a whole bottle of vodka. We can't let people have this. We can't trust. They trust them
with a whole bottle of vodka, though. You can get a gallon of vodka. You can get a case of vodka.
And nobody knows. Nobody cares. And nobody's worried about your adult responsibility once you leave the store with it. So this is hypocrisy
on hypocrisy on top of false information. He took a couple of words from that statement
and mashed them together to make them sound 10 times worse. And it's sorry, that's wrong. It's
inaccurate. It is a lie. It is a lie. I'm not going to mince my words here.
It's completely false. And he only said it while wearing blue gloves.
He made a fear monger. He made it seem like he was afraid to touch it.
It's absolutely ridiculous.
The other really, really bad thing that he he talked about, a large sex and human trafficking case in Flint, Michigan, said that they had this huge sex trafficking bust.
Largest in the history.
Largest in the history of whatever.
Michigan, we don't know.
The U.S., I'm sure it's not.
But he said that when they interviewed the girls that they were subdued by THC gummies and suckers.
Yeah, that's not what I found.
So we – tell us what we found.
In Flint, Michigan, four people were arrested.
Four.
I mean, still, four people.
That's bad.
We shouldn't be doing it.
Of course not, but it wasn't the largest human trafficking ring ever.
And it said THC-laced gummies were used.
It doesn't say anything that they were Delta-8 or hemp derivative THC.
It just says THC.
Right.
So it could have been.
And Michigan, correct me if I'm wrong because I'm not, is a fully legal and recreational state.
So the chances are those gummies came from a legal marijuana, not legal in Alabama at all, not hemp at all, dispensary.
Right. Right. I mean, the likelihood of Michigan and gummies being anything but illegal, federally illegal cannabis, pretty low.
Right. No, he wants people to believe they were hemp derived gummies.
Also, he said suckers and it didn't mention any suckers right oh back to the he added the suckers he said suckers laced with
thc is what he said right um and you said there's no mention of suckers in the article so that's
just an additional thing i don't know what their obsession is over suckers they were brought into
one meeting they keep mentioning lollipops and suckers.
Kids.
Well, of course.
Yeah.
But if you buy them, if you can't be, if you can't buy them, if you're under 21.
Oh, what was my next thing?
Shoot.
I lost my place.
Oh, my point was, too.
Oh, my point was, too, they were used to subdue these girls.
They were used to subdue these girls.
You can subdue someone with all sorts of things, including your bare hands, a hammer, a gun, a knife, alcohol.
You know, lots of things.
Prescription drugs, illegal drugs.
I mean, I haven't ever heard of girls being pimped out with THC gummies.
And I know that sounds callous, but I've just never heard of it. No, and to blame THC-derived products on sex trafficking. Right, exactly. To make a
correlation between us and sex trafficking was the entire intent of that statement. I mean,
there's no other way. There's no way he could have known that it was hemp THC or marijuana THC, but the likelihood of it not
being marijuana is pretty low because of the state it happened in, which further proves the point
that he's probably making it up. That did happen, and they did say THC, but none of the things that
were said specifically, so we don't know where that information came from.
And then he's talking about how we mark up our products over 200% because all we want is money.
Untrue.
Let's see.
Oh, this was the point I wanted to make earlier.
Here we're coming full circle to the nine months.
At the end of the sales pitch,
because that's what this is. This is a sales pitch.
And let's talk about that for a minute before I say what he said. Yeah, this is what they do.
Do they read these bills? We know they don't because they walked in every single meeting we've
had except for the last two. They walked into the meeting and then after the meeting started,
handed out either the bill or a brand new amendment no one had ever seen and expected a vote right then.
But in your experience, does every representative read every bill?
They'll probably read their own bills.
That's about it.
Right.
You know, how it works is representatives are going to come in front of this committee of however many people are.
I think there were 12 on that committee.
Right.
And they hear your bill and they get up there,
and they give their best sales pitch.
They want this committee to pass their bill.
And they're not going to read 68 pages.
No, no.
They're going to give you three or four bullet points,
and you just trust them on the rest.
Right.
Trust the people who are bald-faced lying to everyone in the room
about the people standing behind them who cannot say
anything in their own defense. Right. He wants to pass his bill. He wants to pass. Right. He
wants the bill passed no matter what he will say or do anything for that. I guess the last thing
that he said, though, at the end, he said in the last week or two, since I have been working on this bill we have had kids med flighted out of high
schools plural so if your child has been med flighted out of a high school in the last 14 days
would you please reach out to the show because we couldn't find any
if anybody's heard of this right please let us know. Because if that's true,
then maybe we do have a problem.
But I'm pretty sure that the thousand or so kids
at those high schools,
because it said multiple,
none of those kids had a cell phone available
because they haven't passed that law yet,
banning cell phones in schools,
but they're working on it.
But yeah, not a single TikTok,
not a single Instagram post.
So guys, I know we're basically out of time, thank you so much, Joe, for being on the show, and helping me dig through this,
guys, we need you, we need you to email, we need you to call, we need you to see through the bull,
and we need you to let them know that the people of this state do not want this to happen,
and we need you to pray for us, you know, we got to travel. We've got to go spend our own money. And, you know, it's almost
impossible to park. It's impossible to get food in between the meetings, you know, to figure out
what's going on. And I didn't even get to go in last time. I went all the way there at six o'clock
in the morning and had to watch for my phone
outside in the heat. You know, so we need your help. We need you to call in. Thank you so much,
Joe. Yeah, thank you for having me. We look forward to you. Come see us at 420 on 419 and
get a snow cone or pretzel and a hot dog from Joe. We're going to be able to give you guys updates on
what's going on and keep everybody informed. We want to show up and show out this year because we do want to prove to those few people
who insist that we're a danger to the public that we are just fine and we need to be left alone.
Thank you all so much.
We'll see you next week on Sweet Home Canabama.
Good night. From the roots to the rules, we uncover it all.
Truth and justice, the plan's divine.
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