{"id":8285,"date":"2025-08-28T15:36:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T15:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/?p=8285"},"modified":"2025-08-28T15:36:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T15:36:16","slug":"tupd-warns-students-about-new-thc-related-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/2025\/08\/28\/tupd-warns-students-about-new-thc-related-law\/","title":{"rendered":"TUPD warns students about new THC-related law"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION<\/a>) \u2014 On July first of this year, Alabama House Bill 445 went into effect, which strengthens the punishment for people caught with certain hemp products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill restricted certain hemp products from being sold in stores and changed the legality of some items. The bill banned consumable hemp items including all Delta-8, Delta-9 and Delta-10 products.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just last year, if a Troy student was caught with a hemp product they would be charged with a misdemeanor and referred to student services. Due to House Bill 445, the rules have changed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf a student has a product with THC loaded in it, possessing that as of July first is a felony,\u201d said Troy University Police Department<\/a> (TUPD) Chief George Beaudry. \u201cIf a student were caught with a product with suspected THC in it, we wouldn\u2019t make the arrest immediately.\u00a0We would take the THC product into possession and send it to the state lab. The lab would run all the appropriate tests.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE FOR YOU: TUPD moves headquarters to Collegeview building<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf the forensic scientist told us that the THC is at a certain percentage, we would do one of two things. We would either sign a warrant for an arrest, or we would present the case to the grand jury.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beaudry offered one piece of advice to students considering pushing the boundaries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe basic message is don\u2019t possess it. If you choose to possess it, understand that the consequences are going to be a lot more significant now.\u00a0The sentence for a Class C felony can be up to ten years and can be $15,000 in fines. I\u2019m not saying that\u2019s going to be the first-time result, but it\u2019s possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>Troy University Police Department Chief George Beaudry<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

TrojanVision spoke to an individual who uses THC products. That person believes that the new\u00a0law could have the opposite effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think upgrading the punishment to a felony is extreme. I could see the new punishment drawing people to try THC products. It\u2019s kind of like when your parents told you not to touch the hot stove as a kid. After they told you that, you wanted to go touch the hot stove.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI could definitely see more people taking the risk of trying THC products with the higher punishment.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even with a potential felony on the line, the individual says many users aren\u2019t deterred from using THC products.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not really something that\u2019s in the forefront of our minds a lot of the time. We all kind of have the same mindset of staying out of the way.\u00a0Jail is never a place anybody wants to go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>Anonymous THC user<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Based on the increased severity of the crime, TUPD is trying to warn students before it\u2019s too late.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to educate our population,\u201d Beaudry said. \u201cWhile this may have seemed like a simple offense two months ago, it is not anymore.\u00a0It is a significant and serious offense based on the laws of the state of Alabama.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here for information about Troy University’s drug convictions and financial aid eligibility policy<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if you\u2019re a first-time offender caught with a THC product, Beaudry says the highest punishment for the crime might still apply. TUPD released an info graphic via social media explaining the new rules regarding hemp products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students are encouraged to look at the new rules and follow them. To view House Bill 445 in its entirety, click here<\/a>. More information about Troy University’s alcohol and illicit drug policies can be found here<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) \u2014 On July first of this year, Alabama House Bill 445 went into effect, which strengthens the punishment for people caught with certain hemp products. <\/p>\n

The bill restricted certain hemp products from being sold in stores and changed the legality of some items. The bill banned consumable hemp items including all…<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":8312,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1127],"tags":[2417,2418,1142],"topics":[17],"class_list":["post-8285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-news","tag-alabama-house-bill-445","tag-troy-university-illicit-drug-policy","tag-troy-university-police-department","topics-troy-campus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8285"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8311,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8285\/revisions\/8311"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8285"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=8285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}