Washington to ban THC concentrates

    Cannabis concentrates are still fairly new to the cannabis scene and have become a crowd favorite for its high levels of THC. However, Washington wants to rid the state of the typical concentrates and replace them with low THC products. And by low I mean under 10% THC!

    Washington's proposed bill will ban all cannabis concentrates and vape cartridges for retail sale but will still allow those products to be sold to patients. However, the concentrates will have a max of 10% THC.

https://www.thekindpen.com/14-different-kinds-of-weed-concentrates/

    If you are an avid dabber then you know most concentrates are over 60% THC, so trying to imagine a concentrate with only 10% THC seems absurd. For me personally I feel anything under 70% in the wax or shatter category is weak. The whole point of concentrates is to get high levels of THC quickly. There are even countless strains of weed that have higher THC content than what Washington is trying to propose. 

    The reason for this proposal is because there was a study that found THC products over 10% were linked to psychotic disorders. Daily high-potency cannabis use puts you 4 times more likely to develop psychosis. Another reason Washington lawmakers are pushing this bill is due to the 57 deaths that were caused from illegally produced vape cartridges in summer 2019.

    Some people are concerned that the ban will push people to the black market for their concentrates fix. I don't question this. Especially when you look back at the vaping related illnesses and deaths and see they were caused from black market items, not reputable dispensaries. If they continue on with the bill, more people may lean on the black market and end up sick or dead.

https://www.leafly.com/news/strains-products/the-past-present-and-future-of-cannabis-oil-vaporizer-cartridges

    “There may well be rationale for eliminating some portion of the riskiest products on the market if there’s evidence to support that but doing that with 40 percent of the products would make very little sense," explained Leo Beletsky, a professor of law and public health at Northwestern University. "If 40 percent of the market is toward these products and then you ban them, you’d definitely be creating a push towards the black market."

    If this is truly for health reasons, taking a very popular cannabis item off dispensary shelves and banning it is going to push people to buy untested and unsafe concentrates and vape cartridges. This in turn will do the complete opposite of what lawmakers are trying to do. It seems like a double edged sword. What's your opinion on the proposed ban?