They don’t make cannabis products like they used to, and there’s an increasing number of Colorado lawmakers who think that’s problematic.

As recently as 2014, the vast majority of medical and recreational cannabis sold in Colorado was flower and only 11% was the high-potency concentrates consumed through dab rigs or vape pens. By 2019, concentrates took up a third of the market and flower was below 50%.

With the rising popularity of high-THC concentrates, which are several times more potent than flower and edibles, come worries among deep-pocketed political groups and their statehouse allies that teenagers have too much access to it without enough knowledge of the effects.

Lawmakers are working on what could be the biggest marijuana legislation in Colorado since recreational cannabis was legalized in 2012 — a bill that would more tightly regulate the state’s industry with a range of proposals, including a possible THC potency cap, a requirement that people seek medical cards in person only and improved data collection aimed at stricter enforcement of purchasing limits.

Its potential impact is enough to have the cannabis industry and its advocates warning of a so-called soft prohibition and again raising concerns about racial inequity in the business itself. [Read more at The Denver Post]