Proposed measure threatens CO cannabis industry, firm says

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A cannabis industry data firm is sounding the alarm over a proposed Colorado ballot initiative it says would prohibit marijuana products that generate more than 80% of industry revenue in the state.

The proposed initiative would limit the amount of THC content in cannabis products to 16%. The current average is 17.1% in buds and flowers and 62.1% in concentrates, according to a 2015 study.

“When we first encountered the proposed language we quickly understood it would have a dramatic effect on the market,” Roy Bingham, CEO of Colorado-based BDS Analytics, the data firm, said in a news release. “Should the initiative become a part of the Colorado constitution, it would hobble Colorado’s fastest growing industry.”

The proposed THC restrictions would mean that just 3% of available flower would be permissible within the limit, according to BDS Analytics, noting that flower and pre-rolled products account for some 65% of industry revenue.

Also, the firm said, no products in the concentrates and extracts categories could be sold, and cannabis industry jobs would be threatened.

The ballot measure also would require that any package of cannabis-infused edibles could have no more than 10 milligrams of THC, meaning that “almost every edible product … would have to be repackaged,” according to the news release.