New initiative likened to removing all but Mike’s Hard Lemonade’s from liquor stores.
A proposed initiative in Colorado would limit the amount of THC in all cannabis products and destroy the new market for legal recreational marijuana. The initiative would limit all cannabis products to just 16 percent. This amount is below today’s average THC content (Which some sources to say to be 18.7 percent) and far below some products 25-35 percent THC range.
This crippling initiative would ban most, if not all, of the products in Colorado’s fastest-growing industry. If the initiative passes, only 3 percent of flower products available today would be legal. The concentrates and extracts category would be be completely eliminated and only 5 percent of edible products could be sold.
To further break it down for you BDS Analystics has compiled sales numbers for the first quarter of 2016 which added up to be $170.3 million. Here is the numbers:
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Flowers and pre-rolled products ($110.9 million and 65.2 percent)
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Concentrates and Extracts (32.6 million and 19.2 percent)
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Edibles (19.6 million and 11.5 percent)
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Others, including topicals and accessories ($7.1 million and 4.1 percent)
If the initiative was passed and THC levels were limited, flower sales would be lowered to $33.7 million, concentrates / extracts would be gone all together, and edibles would reach only $9.8 million. Assuming that the ‘other’ category stays the same, the market size would be $50.6 million. When compared to the $170.3 million under current laws, it is obvious the crippling effect this initiative would have on the budding industry.
Legalized recreational marijuana is still being experimented and played with. No one really knows how to do it exactly right yet but it is the responsibility of the states that have already legalized marijuana to show what works and what doesn’t. This initiative would cut the industry off at it’s legs, limiting the vastness and opportunity for improvement. We have to stay on top of the initiatives and additions to cannabis law to make sure everything we have built doesn’t crumble underneath us.
In my mind it makes sense to never have a limit on the THC content of the products. Rather, warn consumers that some products may have more of an affect on them than others. Just look at the alcohol industry, there are a variety of alcohol percentages available from hard lemonade’s all the way up to Everclear and grain alcohols. THC should be the same way in that some users like the increased THC levels to knock them out of the park, while others prefer a mild strain to sit back and relax.
Photo: daveynin
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