Application to sell hemp beverages denied by Valley Council

BY JOHN BRICE

FOR THE LAFAYETTE SUN

VALLEY — Thirsty Tiger LLC had an application to sell consumable hemp products denied by the Valley City Council at its meeting on Aug. 24. Valley Police Chief Stacy Shirey addressed the council on the legal aspects of considering this application before the vote.

“Your hemp gummies and liquid is going to be no different than a CBD gummy or a liquid,” Shirey said. “They are strictly regulated by the state and the government. They can only contain .003 % THC. Some of them have none. It depends on how it is extracted, same as CBD. Because of the way it is made, it doesn’t give you a high.”

Shirey clarified how the legal framework for regulating hemp products functions under the recently enacted law passed by the state legislature. 

“That stuff is very strictly regulated and controlled by the state and the federal government,” Shirey said. “They come in and do inspections. If we contact the state and say that we have a problem, they will come in and deal with that accordingly to make sure they are only selling what they are allowed to sell. We would get involved just like if somebody were illegally selling alcohol to minors. We would contact ABC and ALEA at that point, and they would send out agents to deal with it.”

After both Shirey and Planning and Development Director Reid Riley confirmed this was the first application of its kind to come before the council, there was a roll call vote which failed to pass by a 4-2 margin. Voting yes were council members Jim Jones and Kendall Andrews, while Jim Clark, Randall Maddux, Desmond Reece and Jimmy Gilson all voted no. District 6 Council Member Jolanda Barnes was not present at this week’s meeting.

In other business:

There was a public hearing called regarding the cost of abatement for 1411 Columbus Road on Sept. 14 at that day’s meeting.

There was a consent agenda approved which included determination of violation and authorizing action for McKeehan at 3320 Columbus Road, declaring as surplus a public works 2003 Ford F150 pickup truck, a license for the public consumption of alcohol at an Iron Bowl party in Lakeview, the 2027 severe weather preparedness tax holiday on Feb. 26-28, 2027, and a budget amendment for public works capital equipment.

There was a motion approved to adopt the 2025-2030 multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan.

A motion was approved for a project agreement for Project Ironclad, which is pending city attorney approval.

City Hall will be closed on Sept. 7 in observance of Labor Day.