The House and Senate voted Tuesday to reinstate a cap on the amount of THC content in cannabis flower after an attempt to remove that limitation a few weeks ago was met with pushback from lawmakers.

Prior to this year’s legislative session, Connecticut law capped the THC content in cannabis flower at 35%. A bill passed in April removed that cap.

At the time, Rep. Roland Lemar, D-New Haven, said cannabis plants have their own natural limits on THC concentration and that “watering down” the cannabis could actually be more dangerous because it would involve substances that have not been tested or regulated. 

But Rep. David Rutigliano, R-Trumbull, argued that higher concentrations of THC would make it easier for people to become addicted. He noted that public health professionals who appeared at a public hearing on the bill also brought concerns about THC levels.

House Majority Leader Jason Rojas told the Connecticut Mirror Wednesday that the caps were replaced after members of the Senate expressed concern.

“I still think it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to have a cap. But if people felt strongly about it, we agreed to it,” Rojas said. 

Lemar said that while the legislature overall appeared willing to loosen some regulations on the cannabis industry that created challenges for business owners, removing the THC cap on flower was a sticking point. 

“ I think it puts [businesses] at a competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis some other states. But at the end of the day, the regulators and the legislators who were tasked with making the responsible choice didn’t feel comfortable in that space moving to an uncapped system,” he said. 

Rojas said he didn’t believe restoring the cap on flower would cause problems for the industry, since the difference between natural THC limits in flower and the caps in the bill were minimal. 

Sen. James Maroney, D-West Haven, said there were similar concerns in the Senate about the removal of the THC cap for flower. The original bill that removed the caps passed 18-17 with a promise that an imminent bill would restore those caps. 

During a Senate debate on the bill removing the caps, several senators — Republican and Democrat — expressed concern about how increased THC potency could affect public health, particularly for children. 

“This is not fun and games. This is life and death. This is life changing, family changing, family destroying when we eliminate these caps,” said Sen. Jason Perillo, R-Shelton.

Sen. Christine Cohen, D-Guilford, also expressed “strong reservations” with the THC potency levels and their impact on mental health. 

Aside from the THC flower cap, the original bill eliminated caps on THC concentrates and increased the amount of THC allowed in infused drinks from 3 mg to 5 mg. Drinks sold in dispensaries or retailers may now have up to 10 mg of THC. The bill also expanded the cannabis marketplace to include topicals, tablets and capsules and allows patients who come from out-of-state to purchase cannabis for medical reasons. 

Those changes are still in place.

Sen. Paul Cicarella, R-North Haven, said he hoped the legislature next year could consider setting limits to THC in other forms of cannabis, like edibles or tinctures. 
“Marijuana is a concern. Increasing these levels is a concern of multiple people around this circle, regardless of party,” he said.