Colorado marijuana regulation bill sails through the legislature – Cannabis Business Executive

More than seven years after recreational marijuana shops opened in Colorado, the state legislature is sending a unified message of concern about what high-potency products might do to young people.

Lawmakers gave final approval Tuesday to HB21-1317, the most sweeping regulatory bill for the cannabis industry since legalization. It faced almost no resistance in either chamber, passing 56-8 in the House and 35-0 in the Senate.

The bill moves now to Gov. Jared Polis, a longtime advocate for legalized marijuana and an ally of the industry. His office declined to say whether he will sign the bill into law.

This bill would direct 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” — and its results could inform future policy decisions at the Capitol.

Dispensaries that sell medical or recreational marijuana will have to package products with explicit guidance for consumers on serving size, and also restrict daily purchase limits for concentrates like wax and shatter to 8 grams per person — a fifth of the current limit. The bill would require a real-time database to enforce longstanding state laws on daily purchase limits, which to this point have not been enforced so people can dispensary hop and exceed their limits. [Read more at The Denver Post]