When it comes to state policy and cannabis, everyone tends to associate Colorado as the “weed” state. One of the main reasons for this is that Colorado was actually the first state in the entire country to legalize marijuana, which was a huge deal and caught a lot of national attention. In fact, many people attested that the entire city of Boulder Colorado smelled like cannabis for months on end. Why are we talking about this today?
Well, it is because the state of Colorado is beginning to pioneer legislation in the marijuana industry once again – this time in the form of potency caps. It is interesting that one of the most renowned states for weed legalization could be one of the first to create more restrictive rules and guidelines about potency caps for cannabis. Could this be due to the fact that Colorado has had the most time to see the harmful effects of extremely potent cannabis? Either way, this is a huge debate in the state of Colorado.
There are good arguments on both sides, and honestly it is up to you to decide for yourself what you think about this whole thing. The great thing about potent cannabis is that it allows medical marijuana patients to find quick and effective relief from their chronic disease or pain symptoms. However, clinical studies have pointed to the potential dangers that are present in regularly smoking very potent weed. So there is honestly a lot to consider in this whole debate. The potency cap that Colorado is proposing is to cap patients at about 15% THC potency for all cannabis products. This heavily limits the type of products that are available for both recreational users and medical marijuan patients.
So what are some of the reasons that the state of Colorado is wanting to put a potency cap on medical marijuana? After all, everyone associates Colorado as the great marijuana state. Well, one of the reasons that Colorado was so quick to legalise medical marijauna was to try and fight back against opioid addiction and abuse that was rampant in the state. One of the goals of health organizations in Colorado is to keep medical treatment safer, especially when it comes to things like substance abuse.
The hope for Colorado medical patients is that medical marijuana would prevent as many deaths related to prescription painkillers and opioids. However, when it comes to how a medical patient uses medical marijuana, the whole system is pretty laissez faire. A medical patient is not legally required to regularly check in with their doctor for supervision about potency levels. This means that a medical marijuana patient could be using super potent weed without any health officials knowing. People who support the potency cap are worried about the safety of medical marijuana patients, especially when it comes to patients that are using medical cannabis in addition to other prescriptions.
It is true that there are some prescriptions that do not mix well with cannabis, and some health officials are concerned that this might be a problem in the state of Colorado. Basically, it really comes down to an element of control. Policy makes feel that the medical marijuana industry in Colorado is not necessarily controlled enough to ensure safety and care for patients.
Much of the bill that is being proposed also includes more comprehensive health appointments for medical marijuana patients, as well as maximum potency levels in cannabis that can help prevent rare health conditions that occur when using high levels of THC. If you are a medical marijuana patient in the state of Colorado, you definitely want to keep your eye on this debate.
Rupert Belcher 