THC Potency limit bill threatens patient access to safe, effective medicine

If passed, SB 440 would remove patient access to essential high potency medical marijuana products on the legal market.

Oklahoma is the latest of several legal states recently targeted by a trend of marijuana opponents introducing bills that limit THC potency. 

Senate Bill 440, sponsored by Jessica Garvin would impose a 30% delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) potency limit for medical marijuana flower and 60% potency limit for all other medical marijuana products.

Marijuana Business Daily reported in 2021 that six similar bills surfaced across four legal states, and that an additional THC potency limit bill was derailed in Colorado before it could be introduced because it triggered a backlash. Peter Marcus, communications director at Terrapin Care Station based in Boulder, estimated the law would have made at least 65% of the products on the Colorado market illegal.

Critics of similar legislation have voiced concern that the illicit market will capitalize on the inaccessibility of legal high potency products. In addition to the risk of spawning new black market competition for legitimate businesses, such a policy puts medical patients at risk of consuming unregulated, untested products. The worst outcome of this scenario is highlighted by the 2019 vape crisis that resulted in multiple reported deaths from people allegedly consuming black market THC vape cartridges that contained toxic additives.

Patients would also carry a new risk of penalty if they were in possession of unregulated products. There are still 4,000-6,000 cannabis related arrests in Oklahoma a year, the vast majority of which are for possession. Introducing new criminal elements will undoubtedly increase cannabis related arrests, which is counterproductive to correcting the harms of longstanding prohibition policy.

While 30% THC might be high for flower, the most in-demand concentrates range anywhere between 80% and 90% potency. High THC RSO for example, a product late stage cancer patients have reportedly used effectively in their treatment regimen, could contain up to 90% THC. 

The National Library of Medicine reports that cannabis is an effective antiemetic for chemo patients, clinically significantly reduces pain symptoms in adults with chronic pain and improves patient-reported spasticity symptoms in adults with multiple sclerosis. High potency THC products serve more purpose than getting people high. They are essential in medical focused marijuana markets like Oklahoma’s and SB 440 threatens their accessibility.

Vermont and Conneticutt are the only two states in the country that currently impose THC potency limits, but those limits only pertain to the state’s recreational markets. Essential high potency medicine remains available to licensed medical patients in every state where medical marijuana has been legalized. If SB 440 is passed, Oklahoma would be the first and only state to apply a THC potency limit to a medical marijuana market.

SB 440 demonstrates an unfortunate misunderstanding of cannabis from the body regulating its use. There are 100 known cannabinoids and hundreds more terpenes that all play a complex role in the effects we feel from cannabis – SB 440 mentions three of them. While THC is the most common psychoactive phytocannabinoid, a high THC percentage isn't synonymous with product quality. This misunderstanding is shared amongst the cannabis consumer base that drives the industry to cater to the market demand of higher THC products.

Most of the public’s ideas about cannabis come from media that has been influenced by decades of prohibition propaganda. Modernized “reefer madness” plays into sustaining consumer perceptions that high THC products are “the best” if they are after a tangible effect. Conversely, it leads legislators and those opposed to cannabis access expansion to believing high THC products and their availability presents imminent danger to communities.

As cannabis becomes more widely accessible, there is a growing need for industry-lead education campaigns that help consumers better understand cannabis, and what combinations of THC with other minor cannabinoids will provide them with the best personal experience. There is already a culture of more discerning cannabis consumers emerging, but catering to this new curiosity in tandem with market demand is a difficult balancing act. While THC potency limits may force more of those conversations, they would also force medical patients to choose between breaking the law or altering an essential aspect of their treatment regimen. 

When Oklahoma first passed SQ 788, the Oklahoma Board of Health proposed a 12% THC limit on all medical marijuana products–a proposal that the Attorney General suggested was beyond its regulatory authority. Imposing THC limits now could inadvertently be counterproductive to the state legislature and law enforcement’s goal to reduce black market activity. SB 440 would remove safe access to essential high potency THC products from the legal market, but it would do nothing to decrease their general demand.

You can use this link to send a message to your lawmakers in opposition of SB 440.