After a contentious discussion, Fairhope City Council narrowly approved a new ordinance permitting the sale of consumable hemp products within city limits on Monday night.

The ordinance is in response to a new state law that went into effect Jan. 1 placing tighter restrictions on consumable hemp products, including product testing, packaging, display and other requirements. The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) oversees hemp products available to consumers such as flower, oils, ointments, edibles and beverages, which can also contain hemp-derived THC, a psychoactive component of cannabis.

Through the new law, ABC will also only approve applications to sell hemp products once municipalities also approve it, basically giving cities the opportunity to opt in or out if they choose to on a case-by-case basis.

In Fairhope's case, the ordinance will amend Chapter 4 of the Code of Ordinances of Fairhope to allow the sale of consumable hemp products within corporate limits and police jurisdiction. The ordinance specifically mentions stores selling edibles and drink products and other CBD products. Businesses that do so will have to apply for a business license with the city and pay a $1,000 fee, similar to how businesses apply for liquor licenses.

If a business selling these products is cited for two ABC violations, council has the right to revoke its business license. This is more strict than state law, which requires at a minimum three ABC violations before a license can be revoked.

During the public comment period, one person spoke about the ordinance.

"I trust there are better ways of increasing tax revenue, and I do not sense any clamor in Fairhope for a more revved up party scene," said Eric Hankins, who identified himself as a local pastor. "This ordinance will do more harm than good. I understand you are not in a position to eliminate every product or behavior that might cause pain or problems, but you can vote no on this, and I think you should."

Council showed a split on the ordinance. Councilman Joshua Gammon was the most vocally opposed.

"Everything about it is murky to say the best, and there's documented downsides," Gammon said. "I think as a city council, we're tasked with promoting the wellness and the good of the community, and in my opinion, when I try to vote, what I try to vote on (is if) I think this will advance the community, is this a good thing for the community overall or a negative overall, and that's what influences me."

Councilman Jack Burrell, while acknowledging there may be health concerns, countered that these products are no worse than alcohol products already widely available as council continues to approve liquor licenses, including that night. He also noted how the products in question are more of a CBD product with only some THC, though he couldn't argue that they are completely devoid of THC.

"There's three items on tonight's agenda that's promoting the sale of alcohol, which we know contributes to thousands of deaths on the road every year, yet we approve it and we'll probably approve those," Burrell said. "We just approved the Walmart (liquor license), so I find it hard to say no to this item that's being regulated by the state of Alabama and the state board."

Councilman Jay Robinson said he sees where both Burrell and Gammon are coming from, adding he thinks this is tougher than what it seems on the surface.

"I do feel there is some level of hypocrisy with us approving liquor licenses, but at the same time, regulating this in some way," Robinson said. "That's kind of what I wrestle with with this particular ordinance. I'm not sure there is enough financial benefit for the city to justify doing something new that we don't truly know what the outcome is going to be, whether it's positive or negative, but I also don't know if we understand the negatives as much as the hypotheticals we may be presented with."

Councilwoman Andrea Faust Booth said she felt the same way with Robinson's evaluation, while Councilman Jimmy Conyers said he has heard more from people in favor of the ordinance than he has from people against it, though he is more on the fence, saying he is not a strong proponent one way or the other.

Mayor Sherry Sullivan weighed in as well, saying she has no opinion either way but noted there are other municipalities close to Fairhope that have approved their own ordinances on hemp products. As of press time, Daphne is so far the only city within Baldwin County that has approved the sale of hemp products since the state law went into effect, having approved licenses for four businesses.

"I do feel like they are going to buy it from other places and bring it in, so we're going to end up dealing with the issues anyway if they're driving or impaired," Sullivan said. "I do think our ordinance gives us a little bit of teeth if they are buying in our community and we know if there is an establishment that is violating the policy and ABC has cited them, then it gives us the right to pull their business license, so I do think we have a little bit more regulatory teeth in our ordinance to allow us to regulate that versus neighboring communities because I do believe we are going to see it whether we are selling it here or not."