POSSIBLE POTENCY POLICY
Earlier this year, lawmakers opposed an initiative that aimed to lower the potency of cannabis in Colorado, because they claimed the state’s constitution allows all forms of cannabis, and limiting the potency would deem many things like edibles and concentrates (at their current states) illegal. Now, cannabis skeptics are trying to change the state’s constitution to impose recreational cannabis potency limits and new packaging requirements.
Colorado Supreme Court approved petitioning for a ballot measure that would set new parameters for recreational cannabis. Supporters are now permitted to start collecting 98,000 by August 8 in order to get the measure on the ballot.
Amendment 139 calls for warnings on packaging informing recreational users that cannabis could cause identified health risks such as “permanent loss of brain abilities; depression, anxiety and temporary paranoia; potential for long-term addiction” among others. Supporters of this new bill claim that current warnings on recreational cannabis are not adequate in warning potential users of the health risks associated with cannabis use. They also claim the amount of THC in cannabis is currently too high.
The measure aims to ensure the potency of cannabis and cannabis-related products cannot exceed 16 percent. According to The Cannabist, attorneys in the cannabis industry believe up to 80 percent of the cannabis products currently being sold have a potency over 16 percent, and therefore would be banned under Amendment 139. This was also confirmed by a study conducted by The Colorado Department of Revenue. The study found that, on average, Colorado’s cannabis flower contained 17.1 percent THC and concentrates contained 62.1 percent THC.
Roy Bingham is the head of BDS Analytics, a cannabis tracking firm. In a statement he shared, “The initiative could devastate Colorado’s fastest-growing industry.”
If passed, this amendment will be the most devastating attempt by cannabis skeptics to limit safe access to recreational cannabis. It could also drive many recreational users to the black market, which would be disastrous to a community benefitting from the profits of legalized cannabis.
