High THC Policy | Final Report: Exploring Policy Solutions: Report to the WA Legislature

To address this emerging public safety challenge of increasingly available high-THC products (e.g. dabs, wax, concentrates), the WA State Health Care Authority was directed by ESSB 5092 (2021) to contract with the University of Washington’s Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute (ADAI) to identify areas of common ground and consensus, and develop recommendations for state policies related to cannabis concentration and mitigating detrimental health impacts.

This report describes the 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. 

Read the report here.

Related resources:

• Report Addresses Mental Health Risks of High-THC Cannabis (UW Medicine piece about this report and CERP Director Beatriz Carlini, PhD, MPH
• Leaked Report Shows Heightened Scrutiny of Marijuana’s Rising Potency (Bloomberg article about this report)
• More on High-THC Concentration Cannabis from the ADAI Cannabis Education & Research Program (CERP)

This post was original published on December 5, 2022 with the draft version of the report and updated on January 30, 2023 with the final version.