The Denver Post is reporting.. and yes
THC potency cap is the no.1 issue.
Also
- Purchasing higher than daily limits
- Renewing medical cards virtually
Concentrates, dispensary-hopping may be targeted under a bill still being negotiated; supporters say its for kids’ benefit
They don’t make cannabis products like they used to, and there’s an increasing number of Colorado lawmakers who think that’s problematic.
As recently as 2014, the vast majority of medical and recreational cannabis sold in Colorado was flower and only 11% was the high-potency concentrates consumed through dab rigs or vape pens. By 2019, concentrates took up a third of the market and flower was below 50%.
With the rising popularity of high-THC concentrates, which are several times more potent than flower and edibles, come worries among deep-pocketed political groups and their statehouse allies that teenagers have too much access to it without enough knowledge of the effects.
Lawmakers are working on what could be the biggest marijuana legislation in Colorado since recreational cannabis was legalized in 2012 — a bill that would more tightly regulate the state’s industry with a range of proposals, including a possible THC potency cap, a requirement that people seek medical cards in person only and improved data collection aimed at stricter enforcement of purchasing limits.
Its potential impact is enough to have the cannabis industry and its advocates warning of a so-called soft prohibition and again raising concerns about racial inequity in the business itself.
For those who want to see it pass, the chief stated priority is the health and safety of children. And the public face of the proposal is the legislature’s lone medical doctor, Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a pediatrician.
“In the last couple years, I’ve seen much more frequent use among teenagers, to the extent that I just saw a patient — young lady, cheerleader, great kid all around, but she’s been using these (high-potency) products daily and ended up in the hospital because she was vomiting constantly and lost 25 pounds,” said Caraveo, who is from Thornton.
That doesn’t resonate with Wanda James, owner of Simply Pure dispensaries in Denver. She’s one of just a few dozen Black marijuana business operators in Colorado, compared to nearly 2,000 white operators, state data shows.
“I would like someone to explain to me why this is being wrapped around, ‘Oh, the children, the children,’” she said. “What we’re discussing here is clearly a parenting issue, not a business issue.”
James added she can buy a truckload of Everclear at a liquor store but lawmakers don’t seem interested in limiting its 95% alcohol content or installing strict purchase limits like they might do with concentrates — which usually have 70-80% THC content — or other cannabis products.
Read full article. https://www.denverpost.com/2021/03/11/colorado-biggest-overhaul-marijuana-laws-thc-cap/
