The measure, which would cap the amount of THC at 10% for flower and 15% for concentrates, has faced opposition from the state’s dispensaries.
An Illinois lawmaker has filed legislation to limit the amount of THC in cannabis products, and according to the Chicago Sun-Times, the state’s dispensaries aren’t happy about it.
House Bill 4709, which was introduced Jan. 21 by Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield), would cap the amount of THC at 10% for flower and 15% for concentrates.
Batinick filed the legislation at the request of the Illinois State Medical Society, which has voiced concerns about cannabis potency and the number of cannabis-related calls made to the Illinois Poison Center, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The calls have increased from 487 in 2019 to 743 in 2020, when Illinois launched its adult-use cannabis program, and then rose to 855 in 2021, according to the news outlet.
Batinick’s proposal has already received pushback from industry stakeholders, the Chicago Sun-Timesreported.
NORML sent an email blast Jan. 25, noting that the legislation would limit access to medical cannabis, according to the news outlet. The organization urged its supporters to contact lawmakers to express opposition to the bill.
Batinick has said that the bill “isn’t meant to affect medical marijuana at all,” the Chicago Sun-Timesreported, and that he is trying to “find balance and keep people safe.”
“It’s almost impossible, practically, to be able to do this,” Pam Althoff, executive director of the Cannabis Business Association, told the news outlet. She added that Batinick’s measure is unprecedented and would be a burden on cannabis cultivators.
Batinick has said his bill was filed “more from a discussion standpoint,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times, and that it “isn’t necessarily going to move.”
State Rep. La Shawn Ford, who sponsored recent legislation to overhaul Illinois’ cannabis legalization law, told the news outlet that while he open to having a conversation about Batinick’s bill, the current version is a “nonstarter.”