Arizona Bill Would Cap THC at 2% for Medical Cannabis

Arizona lawmakers last week introduced HCR 2045, which aims to cap the THC potency of medical cannabis products at just two percent, AZMarijuana.com reports; the bill is co-sponsored by 15 lawmakers.

Specifically, the proposal would revise the bill to read as follows:

“A registered nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary may not dispense to a qualifying patient or a designated caregiver medical marijuana with a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of more than two percent.” — Excerpt from HCR 2045

The way this was written, however, leaves a lot unclear — it’s unknown, for example, whether the 2 percent cap would apply to only cannabis concentrates or if the restrictions would include cannabis flower products as well.

If the changes are passed, Arizona‘s more than 200,000 registered medical cannabis patients would be either shoehorned into either using low-potency medicine or buying from out-of-state dispensaries or on the unregulated marketplace. Voter-approved initiatives in Arizona, however — like the one that established the state’s medical cannabis program — are difficult for lawmakers to change.

Cannabis concentrates were only fully solidified as a part of the state’s medical cannabis program last February.

Last June, meanwhile, state auditors alleged that medical cannabis regulators in Arizona had failed to responsibly regulate the industry. The allegations suggested that officials had inadequately investigated complaints, did not conduct health inspections at edible processing facilities, and misallocated funds.