Will Colorado limit THC in its cannabis concentrates?

What if the U.S. state with the freest cannabis market... regulated it (a little)? In Colorado, professionals and consumers are expecting a bill to that effect any day now. Described as «The most important reform since legalization» and sponsored by Democratic Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo, this bill aims (among other things) to limit the THC content of cannabis concentrates. The wax, the shatter, the rosin and other pleasures of the dabbers in particular.

Initially, Caraveo proposed to limit the THC content of its products to 15 %.. But the release sent cannabis professionals into a frenzy. From now on, no figures will be put forward by politicians. But the desire to regulate the market is still there.

«It's a profit-making industry, But we've also learned that it has changed things. Like every industry, there are aspects that need to be rectified. It's a regulated market, so let's regulate it!», pleads this Democrat politician, a pediatrician by training, to the Denver Post.

Concentrates with 70 % of THC

In Colorado, the market for concentrates is growing rapidly. It will account for a third of cannabis sales in 2019, up from just a tenth in 2014. And these products are - as their name suggests - extremely concentrated in cannabis. According to a report from the Colorado government, they average 69 % of THC in 2019. This compares with 18 % for cannabis flowers.

In 2020, these extractions and extraction-derived products will account for $6 million in sales. This compares with just one million five years ago. This trend comes at a time when cannabis consumers are turning away from the classic lung-busting joint, towards less harmful, purer forms.

But for some, it went too far particularly among young people. «In recent years, I've seen more and more use among teenagers. For example, I saw a patient who was young, a cheerleader, a super teenager, but she was using these products with high THC levels. She ended up in hospital because she was throwing up all the time, and had lost 10 kilos.», reports medical deputy Yadira Caraveo.

For cannabis professionals, this future regulation is a major blow. «It would be like re-penalizing a product that we have worked so hard to decriminalize, laments Lianna Loving, a Denver-based entrepreneur specializing in cannabis concentrates.

Colorado's political leaders are now looking to Vermont. This northeastern U.S. state has legalize cannabis in 2020. But it has set limits: 60 % of THC maximum in concentrates. A level that could soon be adopted in the « Centennial state ».