Pubdate: Tue, 29 Mar 2016
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2016 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Authors: Ricardo Baca and John Ingold

EFFORT TO LIMIT THC POTENCY RAISES CONCERN

Proposed Cap Could Send Users of Pot Back to the Black Market.

A proposed ballot initiative and an amendment to a bill in the state 
House would cap the THC potency of recreational cannabis and 
marijuana products at a percentage below most of those products' 
current averages.

The initiative would limit the potency of "marijuana and marijuana 
products" to 15 percent or 16 percent THC. The average potencies of 
Colorado pot products are already higher - 17.1 percent for cannabis 
flowers and 62.1 percent for marijuana extracts, according to a state study.

Supporters of the legislation, introduced by Republican state Rep. 
Kathleen Conti, say they're being cautious until more research has 
been done on protecting the brain development of adolescents.

"All the studies that have been done on THC levels have been done on 
THC levels between 2 and 8 percent," said Conti, whose district 
encompasses parts of Greenwood Village and Littleton."Most of the 
marijuana coming in now, the flowers are being rated at a THC count 
of about 17 percent on average, so this is dramatically over."

The THC- limiting measures have the support of SmartColorado, a group 
focused on youths amid cannabis commercialization.

Opponents say the measures are unreasonable and could squash some of 
the legal cannabis industry's most popular categories.

Mark Slaugh, executive director of the Cannabis Business Alliance, 
said he considers the proposed THC limit unconstitutional and that 
such a cap would send patients and recreational users to the gray and 
black markets. "I don't think a lot of thought was put into the 
proposals," said Slaugh, who also is CEO of iComply. "This bill 
threatens to wipe out most infused product manufacturers, and its 
language is unclear as to what to do with edibles."

The first THC- capping proposal is a ballot initiative that would 
limit the potency of cannabis products to 16 percent THC. It also 
would require everything to be sold in a child-resistant packages and 
with labels identifying the potency and providing warnings about 
"identified health risks."

To qualify for the ballot, the proposed initiative must navigate a 
series of hearings, then proponents must collect 98,492 signatures 
from registered Colorado voters.

The second THC- limiting proposal is an amendment to HB 1261, a 
"sunset" bill that reauthorizes rules that are set to expire. The 
bill would extend Colorado's rules for the sale of retail marijuana until 2019.

The bill was heard by the House Finance Committee on Thursday, which 
delayed it without taking a vote.

The amendment would ban recreational cannabis stores from selling 
"retail marijuana or retail marijuana products" with a THC potency 
higher than 15 percent.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom