Colorado Petitioners Want THC Limits, Too
When marijuana cookies and candies began to sell in Oregon’s recreational marijuana market on June 2, the THC level for edibles could be no more than 15 milligrams per serving. (THC is tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive element in marijuana. )
Oregon’s rules also state that dispensaries may sell only one edible per customer per day, and buyers must be at least 21. Before June 2, only medical marijuana cardholders in Oregon were allowed to buy edibles and extracts.
In Colorado on Thursday, June 16, the Supreme Court cleared the way for a ballot to limit the THC for marijuana sold in that state to 16 percent THC, for all types of marijuana. Edibles would be limited to single serving packages, also. The petitioners behind the ballot will have until August 8 to collect 98,000 to get it on the November ballot. (More information is in a blog article published yesterday.)
Most pot products currently sold in Colorado and Washington exceed 20 percent THC. Marijuana cookies and candies in Colorado and Washington can have as much as 10 servings, increasing the chance of psychotic reactions. (Photo above is by Krystyna Wentz-Graff/Oregonian)
Oregon’s rules about edibles show the desire to avoid some of the strong, adverse reactions to edibles that happened in Washington and Colorado. In Colorado, the family of Kristine Kirk has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against an edibles maker and the store who sold her husband the marijuana candy that made him psychotic. He shot his wife and now awaits trial for her murder.
However, the rules for edibles will change again later this year, as Noelle Crombie explains in the Oregonian. The complication just proves how difficult regulating marijuana is. Maureen Dowd explained horrible reaction to a marijuana edible in Colorado made national news, and it seems Oregon doesn’t want to repeat the mistakes of Colorado and Washington.
While Oregon’s THC limits on edibles are lower than elsewhere, Oregon’s THC limits on marijuana extracts seem rather high. According to rules set up by the state, buyers are allowed one container of up to 1000 milligrams of THC extract. Extracts are concentrates processed from marijuana and used to make edibles. The extracts also can be smoked or vaporized. Let’s hope novices won’t be buying the extracts. The public and children must be protected! Lotions and topical ointments may now have 6% THC.