Your CBD Store Celebrates 7 Years of Serenity on Main Street in Northport

Owners of West Alabama's first-ever CBD stores cut a fresh ribbon Thursday morning to celebrate their seven-year anniversary in the still-open shop on Main Street in downtown Northport.

Your CBD Store in Northport is one of several hundred chain stores offering the Sunmed line of hemp-based wellness products. There, Courtney Garner and Tia Mills said they're grateful to be still meeting the needs of the community after seven years of educating customers about what they offer and fighting legislative efforts to regulate or ban hemp-derived goods.

Get our free mobile app

They opened in 2018, when CBD and its effects were not yet well-known in the community, and just before similar but psychoactive products like Delta 8 THC were federally legalized and muddied the waters even more.

Their time in business has seen its share of obstacles as lawmakers try to keep up with a growing market that obviously needed regulation but also generates tax revenue and seems to help the consumers who use it.

"Seven years ago, we opened the doors with a lot of hope, hard work, and probably a lot of fear in there too," Mills said. "We got shut down in the beginning with all the new laws that were passed, and then we were able to open right back up. It was super scary, but each year has truly been a chapter full of lessons, growth and gratitude from us."

Additional changes are underway at Your CBD Store following the passage of House Bill 445 by the Legislature and its signing into law by Governor Kay Ivey, which overhauls the regulation of the hemp industry in Alabama.

One provision of that law, which makes the possession of smokable THC products and THC vapes a felony, goes into effect on July 1st, and the Northport shop is already empty of all those products.

Other elements of the law, like those limiting the dosage of THC gummies, will not be enforced until January 1st, the shop owners said.

Mills said they'll have to stop selling some products and stop allowing anyone under 21 in the building, among other changes, but the store will remain in business.

"We're just proud of how far we've come and even more excited for what's coming ahead of us," she said. "Even with all the new legislation, it worked in our favor that it's not a complete ban on CBD. We're still going to be able to be here and serve our community, because it was never about us; it was about the people who walked in the door."

Garner, who oversees a group of CBD Stores for Sunmed in Alabama and Florida, has spent some time in Montgomery advocating on behalf of those in the hemp industry. She committed to keeping the Northport location in compliance with new state laws as they go into effect, and said the toughest impact on the store will be losing the ability to ship or deliver products.

"One of the things that really hurts us is that as of July 1st, we can no longer ship or deliver to our customers," Garner said. "Ever since the beginning, we've offered free shipping and free local delivery. We travel out even as far as Brookwood because a lot of our customers have some long-term health issues and it's hard for them to get out of the house."

Even so, Mills and Garner reiterated that they are incredibly grateful and blessed for all the support the community has poured into their shop since 2018.

They cut a new ribbon on Thursday and invited all past, present, and future customers to celebrate the anniversary during a party planned for Saturday.

The celebration runs from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.. It will feature BOGO Half Off Deals across the entire store as well as free massages from a licensed therapist, "laughing yoga" to stretch the lungs, and visits from other local vendors offering food and more.

"We want everybody to come celebrate," Garner said. "We're so glad to still be here. We recognize that we were down there in Montgomery fighting for our jobs during these discussions, and it's a blessing to come out of that with a plan to stay open."

The party starts this Saturday at 10 a.m. at 900 Main Avenue in Northport.

For more exclusive coverage of restaurant and retail development in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.