On Friday, June 27, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) held a press briefing to discuss recent raids of “Smoke Shops” across the state, including multiple stores in Troy. 

On June 23, special agents with the ALEA State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and local law enforcement executed search warrants at three stores in the 1000 Block of U.S. 231 in Troy. Also, two stores in the 1000 and 600 Blocks of Boll Weevil Circle and one in the 100 Block of Rucker Blvd. in Enterprise were also served search warrants. Additionally, one store in Wetumpka, two stores in Clanton and one in Montgomery were also a part of the raids. Law enforcement representatives declined to name the specific stores in either city.  

“This operation was the result of a nearly year-long operation investigating the sale of plant materials that contained illegal levels of THC, products that were sold over the counter to customers, which was in complete violation of Alabama law,” SBI Major Crimes Chief Chief Shawn Loughridge said. 

Current Alabama law states that only hemp products containing less than 0.3 percent of Delta 9 THC levels are legal. This threshold was set by the Farm Bill passed by Congress in 2018. 

“During the course of this investigation, special agents and local law enforcement officers conducted multiple control purchases to analyze, and determine THC contents in these substances after receiving numerous complaints,” Loughridge said. “Based on these findings, search warrants were executed and significant quantities of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and other illegal drug related items were seized.”

Troy’s involvement in the case began earlier this year, when 12th Judicial Circuit District Attorney James Tarbox was contacted by the Troy Police Department.

“This matter started for us in early February when I was contacted by the Troy Police Department about products sold in multiple smoke shops in the city, specifically green plant material labeled as hemp or THC-A,” Tarbox said. “I confirmed with the Enterprise Police Department that the same products were being sold in the City of Enterprise. None of us in law enforcement believed that the products were legal.

“By mid February I had contacted the Attorney General’s Office and by the end of February the Attorney General’s Office and SBI and local law enforcement in the 12th Judicial District were meeting to discuss an overall plan of action in this investigation.” 

While public comments suggest a reason for these raids potentially including the House Bill 445, or the “Hemp Bill,” recently signed by the Alabama Legislature, Tarbox was adamant it had nothing to do with the investigation.

“This is not about hemp, it’s not about CBD and it’s not about HB445,” he said. “When you have a billboard that says, ‘Despincery grade THC,’ that means one thing to me; you are selling marijuana. When you have a billboard that says, ‘Inhale the good stuff,’ that means one thing to me; you are selling marijuana. When your business is selling synthetic urine and drug screen masking agents, that means one thing to me;  you’re selling marijuana. This is about protecting the public and upholding the rule of law in the State of Alabama.”

Tarbox also relayed a tactic a store in Enterprise was allegedly using in regards to the sale of THC product to minors.

“One of the businesses in Enterprise had a memo for its employees that said that there are no laws in the State of Alabama about selling THC products to minors and that they could sell these products to minors if their parents had given approval,” Tarbox continued. “Some of these minors were on a list where they could come in and buy these products without having a parent present. I want to be clear, this is absolutely a false assertion and it is absolutely illegal under Alabama law to distribute THC to minors. Had they been caught selling these plant materials in front of you, that tested positive for marijauan and not hemp, it would be a Class-A felony under the laws of the State of Alabama.” 

Attorney General Steve Marshall called the sale of the THC products an “illegal marijuana operation.”

“Let’s make it abundantly clear, this is not hemp, it is marijuana,” Marshall said. “This is an illegal marijuana operation despite the labeling and despite what may be represented. This is illicit drugs. As opposed to going to a local drug dealer to buy marijuana, it was going to a storefront. Either way, it is illegal. This is not a seizure of hemp, it’s a seizure of marijauna.”

Lockridge said that some of the products being sold in these shops had 3-4 times the legal limit of THC. Director Chris Inabinett said that the selling of the product with that level of THC could be a danger to the public.

“Products with these high levels of THC can easily be mistaken by young people or confused by individuals unaware of the risk,” Inabinett said. “They can impair your ability to drive and lead to failed drug tests at work even if the product is labeled as legal. Parents, I would urge you to remain vigilant of these products and products that contain THC such as gummies, chips and candies. Business owners should exercise caution regarding these products and what they sell. They are legally responsible for ensuring the products on their shelves comply with state law regardless of the packaging claims.” 

Loughridge confirmed that a large amount of cash was seized during the conducting of the search warrants and that while no arrests have been made yet, arrests are believed to be forthcoming.

“We do believe (there will be arrests) but the investigation is still ongoing and we are in the early process of that,” he said.