A longer version of this editorial originally appeared in The Seattle Times:
While the state has established rules for Washington’s cannabis industry, it has neglected to thwart the serious potential harm caused by high-potency extracted cannabis. Further indolence puts children and adults at risk of serious harm, including schizophrenia and other mental health impacts.
For starters, lawmakers should start by following the recommendations contained in a report they ordered.
Cannabis has changed since it was legalized for recreational use in Washington in 2014. Highly potent manufactured cannabis products available in retail stores have tetrahydrocannabinol content varying from 60 percent to 90 percent — up from the 15 percent found in some plants.
“They are as close to the cannabis plant as strawberries are to Frosted Strawberry Pop Tarts,” according to Washington State University and University of Washington researchers. They determined that young people are more vulnerable to high-potency THC products, which can have lifelong mental health consequences.
In 2021, the Legislature commissioned the University of Washington’s Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute to develop recommendations for state policies on cannabis concentration.
The report produced a number of potential policies, including: taxing products with THC concentrations greater than 35 percent, prohibiting marketing and advertising of high-THC products, and raising the legal age to purchase high-potency products to 25 years old.
Rep. Lauren Davis, D-Shoreline, took the UW’s recommendations and crafted HB 1641, which does all three.
Legislators would do well to listen to those with firsthand experience of the perils, including Don Danielson, who testified about the death of his adult son from cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, or CHS.
“He was found unresponsive after suffering a seizure brought on by extreme dehydration that damaged multiple organs. And this was well after he quit cannabis. The medical examiner even found no THC in his system,” Danielson told the committee.
The Seattle Times Editorial Board has supported putting a THC cap on certain products as a more effective way to tackle this problem than higher taxes. While the UW report did not support capping THC at this time, it left the door open.
Davis also drafted HB 1642, which would prohibit retailers from selling cannabis products with THC concentrations greater than 35 percent, with medical exceptions.
“If the Legislature fails to move on any of those recommendations, it’s a reflection of where people are placing their values — on the state’s cannabis industry versus the state’s children,” she said.
The House Committee must not allow this report to sit on a shelf. Instead, it ought to act in the best interest of Washingtonians and take meaningful steps to regulate cannabis and protect public health.
