First Person Arrested for Possessing Smokable Hemp Products Under New Alabama Law

The first person has been arrested in Alabama under a law recently signed by Gov. Kay Ivey (R) that bans smokable hemp products. A woman was arrested in Athens, Alabama, on July 7 for possession of smokable hemp products, the Decatur Daily reports. Mary Nobel, 26, is the first person to be arrested under the new law, which was signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey (R) on July 1. 

Nobel is accused of possessing seven delta-9 pre-rolls and a vape pen containing hemp-derived THC, and is charged with possession of a controlled substance and second-degree possession of marijuana. 

Athens is about 10 miles south of the Tennessee border, where smokable hemp products remain legal.  

Defense Attorney Mark McDaniel, who is not representing Nobel, told WAFF that the arrest occurring close to the Tennessee border was not a surprise.    

“Don’t think that you can go up to Tennessee and do something up there and bring the hemp back down here, bring a vape down here, cigarettes, cigar, whatever it is. You bring it back down here, and you think, well, I bought it in Tennessee, it was legal. Don’t matter.” — McDaniel to WAFF 

The new Alabama law makes it a Class C felony to possess or sell smokable hemp products, including vapes, hemp flower, pre-rolls, and cigars. Under state law, the penalty for a Class C felony is one to 10 years in prison and up to $15,000 in fines.