The Colorado House of Representatives approved a marijuana regulation bill that will enact limits on marijuana concentrates. Lawmakers say it will restrict teens’ access to high-THC products.
The bill will also tighten rules on the medical cannabis program and restrict recommendations for medical marijuana. Lastly, it will require the state to study the impacts of marijuana on specific health outcomes.
This bill will be the state’s most substantial marijuana regulation policy since legalization. Legislators intend to continue to crack down on youth access to high-potency THC products.
HB21-1317 passed overwhelmingly, 56-8, and will move on to the state Senate.
Speaker Alec Garnett and Representative Yadira Caraveo are the sponsors of the measure. This bill comes after months of negotiations led by Garnett, and it calls for the Colorado School of Public Health to analyze existing research “related to the physical and mental health effects of high-potency THC marijuana and concentrates.” In the coming years, the analysis could inform new restrictions.
Specifics of the Bill
Medical and recreational dispensaries will now be required to package products with clear guidance for consumers on the serving size. The measure will also call for a real-time database to enforce state laws on daily purchase limits.
Several provisions intend to make the medical marijuana doctor-patient relationship more official so that people ages 18-20 will have a more challenging time obtaining cards. It will make “a big difference by strengthening the doctor-patient relationship and better educating consumers on high-potency products while ensuring we protect patients’ access to medical marijuana,” said Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a pediatrician.
A few House members did criticize the bill and argued that data collection would lead to discrimination against consumers. They also said that it would lead to a slippery slope toward a fresh round of prohibitionist lawmaking.
On the House floor, Garnett disagreed with this argument. Garnett said he supports “making sure we all understand where this market has gone, how this (high-potency) market has expanded.”
“We are going to be at the forefront of looking at the science and the relationship between high-potency concentrates and the developing brain, taking on a role the federal government should have played years ago,” Garrett said. “This bill takes a measured, innovative approach to prevent Coloradans age 18-20 from purchasing massive quantities of concentrates”.
The legislative session will end no later than June 12; HB21-1317 will need to move through the Senate and onto the desk of Gov. Jared Polis in the next two weeks to become law.
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