Today, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed into law a provision of SB 1511, which will allow dispensaries to sell marijuana edibles and extracts to recreational customers.
Under the current SB 1511, dispensaries are only able to sell edible and extract products to medicinal patients. Edibles and extracts were included in the original draft of the bill, but lawmakers decided there were too many safety concerns that needed to be assessed before they could include them in recreational sales.
Myron Brandwine manages Casper’s Cannabis Club, the recently opened marijuana dispensary near the University of Oregon. He said they are looking forward to selling these products to recreational customers.
“We already sell these products to medical patients,” Brandwine said. “But there is a lot of confusing the rhetoric that lawmakers are using about recreational sales. Everyone we talk to seems to have a different answer, so we are waiting until we get a clear go-ahead before selling to recreational customers.”
Brandwine was able to speak to what safety risks held lawmakers back from green-lighting edibles and extracts initially.
“It takes a lot of technical know-how to make THC extracts,” Brandwine said. “There is a risk of not properly filtering out all of the harmful chemicals as well as causing fire hazards. Not just anybody can make this stuff, so I’m sure part of their concern is the manufacturing.”
Edibles, while not as hazardous to make, still pose a unique challenge. According to Brandwine, edibles can be a lot stronger and less uniform in potency.
“Lots of recreational patients won’t want the same dosages that medical users take because they don’t need it,” Brandwine said. “This also brings the concern that not all edibles will have the same THC concentration or potency in all cases.”
The Oregon Health Authority still needs to draft clear rules for the manufacturing and distribution of edibles and extracts before dispensaries can begin selling them for recreational purposes.
At the end of the year, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission will assume authority over implementing these rules and overseeing the sale of recreational marijuana.
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