High Potency Timeline
IDENTIFY
Understand the Problem
In the first years of WA legalization, there was little awareness and concerns about new cannabis products developed by cannabis manufactures, containing much higher levels of THC than what has been historically found in the plant. These products, widely available now, were recognized by CERP as a public health threat as early as 2016.
EDUCATE
Increase Awareness
CERP scientists started publishing its first commentaries and short reports in 2017, warning about the health risks of wide availability of manufactured products
COLLABORATE
Washington State Scientists Workgroup
In 2020, the CERP Director was invited to chair a workgroup of Washington State scientists who convened for six months and published the first Consensus Statement and Report of in the nation on the health risks of highly concentrated THC in cannabis products.
Consensus Statement & Report
This consensus statement and report was developed by research scientists from the University of Washington (UW) and Washington State University (WSU) with the intent of providing policy makers with a summary of the current evidence on topics of public health importance related to cannabis concentration.
RECOMMEND
Legislative Mandate
In 2021, the WA State Health Care Authority was directed by WA State Legislature (ESSB 5092 (2021) to contract with ADAI’s CERP to develop recommendations for state policies related to cannabis concentration and mitigating detrimental health impacts.
EDUCATE
Policy Recommendation to WA Legislators
The final report to legislators, published in December 2022, describes recommendations for state policies based on the perspectives of WA stakeholders, research evidence on public policies designed to mitigate harms associated with non-medical use of high THC cannabis products and other legally commercialized health-compromising products, and cannabis policies that have been considered or adopted in North America.
Increase awareness
On September 16, 2022, CERP hosted a day-long Symposium, which focused on the short and long-term risks of high-THC products, including conversations about policy-focused solutions and ways to increase awareness through education campaigns for providers, parents, and youth. The panel of speakers featured a range of international, national, and regional experts, as well as local policymakers.
More than 200 people attended either virtually or in-person. While the goal of this symposium was to educate Washingtonians on the challenges posed by high-THC products and possible solutions to address it, our collective knowledge reached far and wide to include registrants from five other countries and nine other US states.
COLLABORATE
Interstate Collaboration, High Potency Think Tank
In 2023, the CERP director was invited to be part of an independent panel of 13 U.S. scientist and clinician cannabis experts convened by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to analyze the health impacts, including increased risk of dependency and serious mental health conditions, of the highly-potent cannabis products available in California and elsewhere and provide policy recommendations to mitigate risks – particularly for vulnerable populations. As a result of this collective effort a Report and Recommendations of the High Potency Think Tank to the State of California was released to the public in October of 2024.
TERM
Heading
Add something here about the 2024 symposium – identify the problem – decreasing stigma that creates barrier to accepting science describing harms related to high thc cannabis because of Reefer Madness propaganda
