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Oregon’s Edible and Concentrate Rule Making Conundrum

By Matt Walstatter

Oregon is currently deeply immersed in the dual processes of implementing recreational cannabis sales while updating the medical marijuana program.

While the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) is tasked with implementing and regulating the recreational system, the medical program remains in the purview of the Oregon Health Authority (OHA).

Our regulators are making an honest effort to create gold standard rules that can be an example for the rest of the nation. Unfortunately, this dual regulatory regime creates significant opportunities for confusion.

With two sets of (sometimes conflicting) rules for every aspect of the industry, it can be hard for regulators to come up with regulations that work for everyone. Industry representatives must educate two different agencies, which makes that job much, much harder.

The Oregon Health Authority recently released draft rules regarding the potency of concentrates and edibles in both the medical and recreational markets. These rules run the gamut from poorly conceived to entirely unworkable.

For some processors, they represent a significant challenge, for others an existential threat.

The Rules

The Temporary Rules mandate a maximum amount of THC per package of edibles for both the medical and recreational markets and per dose of edibles for rec. Recreational edibles must come in individual or scorable 5 mg doses of THC, with a maximum of 50 mg THC per package. Medical edibles can contain no more than 100 mg THC per package.

Tinctures destined for the medical market may contain up to 500 mg THC per package, while recreational tinctures must max out at 250 mg THC. Unfortunately, the current draft of the rules recognizes only alcohol tinctures, excluding glycerin and vegetable based tinctures.

The restrictions also extend to concentrates, which may only contain up to 250 mg THC per package in the recreational market. Medical concentrates may reach 1,000 mg THC per package.

Edibles

The most significant issue with the edibles limits is that they are, simply stated, too low. This is less of a problem in the recreational market, but a problem nonetheless. Five (5) mg THC is barely a psychoactive dose for novice user. For a more seasoned veteran, the effects would be imperceptible.

The problem is more severe for medical patients who are using edibles to treat an illness or manage symptoms. Many of these folks need more than 100 mg of THC. Limiting the THC in this manner can cause them substantial hardship.

Cannabinoid edibles are cooked into food and packaged in packaging, both of which cost money. If a medical patient is forced to purchase two products instead of one to get 200 mg of THC, it will cost that patient more to attain the quality of life that cannabis provides.

It also means eating twice as much food to get the same dose of medicine. Since most edibles are sweet treats, this means more calories and more sugar to get a dose of medicine. This can be problematic for diabetics like myself, cancer patients (sugar feeds the growth of some tumors), and others with a host of maladies helped by cannabis.

Tinctures

The dosage limits for tinctures seem much more sensible. Unfortunately, they arbitrarily apply to only one type of tincture — alcohol tincture. Those made from glycerin, vegetable oil and other bases are excluded from the tincture category by definition. As a result, they are subject to the limits for edibles.

For manufacturers of non-alcohol tinctures, this is akin to a death sentence. Very few people will purchase a tincture that contains only 100mg THC. Almost nobody will purchase a 50 mg variety.

The point of a tincture is to offer a dose of medicine in a few drops of liquid. A 50 mg tincture, even a 100 mg tincture, simply doesn’t do that job.

Under this rule, very few non-alcohol tinctures will survive. This is a problem for people who cannot consume alcohol tincture because it burns their throat, because they are in recovery for alcohol addiction or for any number of other reasons. For some people, the non-alcohol tinctures simply work better.

Why allow this exception for alcohol based tinctures and not for others? I think the regulators simply don’t understand the tincture market — the variety of products available and the needs of the patients who use those products. I hope the OHA will take the opportunity to rectify the situation as we move through the rule making process.

Concentrates

Concentrates are typically sold by the gram. With THC content typically ranging from 60-90 percent, a gram of concentrate likely contains somewhere between 600-900 mg THC. This means that the limit for medical concentrates is not terribly problematic.

The limit for recreational concentrates is another story.

With a limit of 250 mg THC, concentrates would have to be packaged in quarter grams. This leads to the same problems with edibles mentioned above — inadequate dosage necessitates the purchase of multiple products where one would suffice. This in turn increases expense to consumers and creates additional packaging and waste.

The problem with children

The proponents of this type of regulation often point to the danger of accidental ingestion by children. As the father of a highly inquisitive six-year-old boy, I am sensitive to these concerns. The last thing I want to see is children being harmed by cannabis.

I do believe that solutions exist to mitigate this concern short of depriving patients of their medicine or making that medicine cost prohibitive through over-regulation. We have strict rules around product appearance, labelling and packaging which help keep cannabis out of the hands of children.

We also have severe restrictions around marketing, designed to assure that no companies market cannabis to children. Private and public educational campaigns warn both children and adults of the dangers of accidental ingestion.

Most importantly, we have parents who can take responsibility for assuring that their children do not accidentally ingest cannabis. Leave the edibles in childproof packaging, lock them up or keep them in a place that your children cannot access. This will prevent accidental overdoses much more effectively than limiting the amount of THC in the package.

Let’s not forget that there is no such thing as a toxic dose of cannabis. While we should take all reasonable care to avoid accidental ingestion by children or accidental overdose by adults, these are short-term issues that leave no lasting effects.

There’s still a chance to rectify the situation

It is no small task to move a multi-billion dollar industry from the black market to the world of legal, regulated business. Little, if any, precedent exists for this task.

All stakeholders — customers, patients, the industry, the government and others — must work together to create fair, sensible regulations that work for everyone. We won’t always get it right on the first try.

Such is the case in Oregon, where the first pass at concentration limits leaves much to be desired. Fortunately, we still have a chance to rectify the situation, as the rule making process remains underway.

If you live in Oregon, contact the OHA and your State Representative and State Senator and tell them what you think about these rules. They are working hard to get this right and they will listen to constituents and experts alike if we can offer meaningful commentary in a respectful manner.

Matt Walstatter

Matt Walstatter

Matt Walstatter and his wife, Meghan, are the owners of Pure Green, a patient owned and operated dispensary in Portland, Oregon. They have jointly owned and operated cultivation centers since 2001. Their dispensary opened in 2013. Matt can be reached at (971) 242-8561 or [email protected].

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