Last week the Washington Department of Health released emergency rules for the state's upcoming combination of its unregulated medical marijuana program with its recreational cannabis infrastructure. Included in the rules were changes to compliance, testing, labeling, safe handling, and employee training. Although the WSDH clarified that the standards in these rules are voluntary, Washington state patients and activists were quick to weigh in with some critical comments. Here's a roundup of their reactions.
Changes to Product Packaging and Serving Sizes
Under the emergency rules, high THC compliant products may be packaged in servings of up to 50 mg of THC, and each unit may not contain more than 10 servings (or 500 total mg of THC). Residents do not seem particularly happy about that, as they feel the smaller serving sizes forces patients to have to purchase more product. Eric Stone had some heated
[S]maller serving sizes mean you buy more packages which means you pay more taxes — its [sic] simple.. greed.. Why let them buy one medible that they can use for a few days vs being forced to buy 5 packages that each have a tax value… fuck you Washington State.. You will literally choke on your greed…
Applying Medical Rules to a Drug That's Not Classified as Having Medical Properties
One commenter named Kris Sheppard pointed out the irony of establishing emergency rules for medical cannabis considering its federal classification:
But a class one drug doesn't have medical properties, yet has medical rules? And by the Federal government? Uh, what?
Complaints About What the Rules Didn't Include
One commenter, Susie Noonan, wonders why the labeling rules don't include terpene information:
No requirement for terpenes? Terpenes determine a lot about the specific strain used against certain diseases or conditions. I need to know what terpenes are present!
Why the Hate?
Not everyone was outraged by Washington's emergency medical cannabis rules. Michael Guttsen provides a dissenting opinion:
These emergency rulings are always fun. But the fact is, it's just about labeling and setting an expectation for the consumer (patient). High CBD vs. high THC and anywhere along the scale is crucial information at point of sale. Folks who ask a budtender about the CBD/THC ratios are usually met with a blank stare, followed by a quick scan of the package for further info. Prozac comes in 5 different sized doses, beside my obvious bad analogy, what is the problem here?
If you have a product to deliver to market, Med or Rec, wouldn't you want your consumer to know a benchmark to compare one product to another?
If we're going to call Marijuana medicine, we better nail down the science of dosage or the industry will never grow out of it's [sic] grass roots. Plus, I'm kinda interested in how many bug legs per bowl I'm smoking…
This is called market maturity, AKA, making it up as we go along. I'd rather have a 50ml High CBD brownie than nothing at all.
Dale Barrett Savage agrees:
I dont [sic] get why people are reacting badly to this, it all seems logical and extremely positive. [F]rom the only comment that actually said anything specific, I gather you guys dont [sic] like the labeling requirements? [W]ell thats [sic] all it is, labels. [I]f you want to give your marijuana the sticker that says "CBD" than [sic] it has to fit certain guidlines [sic], and its [sic] about time there was some consistency in products. [A]nd the testing requirements are absolutely nescessary [sic].
And, of Course, Random Expletives
Of course, nothing gets the message across like a slew of angry swear words. Case in point:
What a GIANT crock of SHIT!!!
More bullshit EMERGENCY rules.
[T]o hell with these fools
What do you think of Washington's voluntary emergency medical cannabis rules? Brush up on them and share your opinion.
