Potent cannabis drinks and edibles legal to minors in Iowa

Iowans — including minors — can legally buy high-potency marijuana drinks and gummies because of loopholes in state and federal laws, according to leaders in the state’s new Bureau of Cannabis Regulation.

While 5 to 10 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, can be intoxicating, some drinkable products have 1,000 milligrams or more per can, according to bureau staff. These products often are marketed as “heavy” because of the large doses of THC by weight of the product.

“There’s quite a high ceiling with these products, and there’s very limited regulation,” Bureau Chief Owen Parker told the Iowa Cannabidiol Board at a meeting Friday. “In general, especially in states like Iowa where cannabis forms are limited, these products are more popular. There is more demand, considering they are legal.”

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Iowa’s medical marijuana program, created in 2015 and expanded several times since, allows for people with certain medical conditions to buy products licensed in Iowa with a maximum of 4.5 grams THC per 90-day purchase in most cases. THC is the primary chemical in a marijuana plant that causes the “high.”

Iowa’s consumable hemp program limits the THC in products, including food, drinks and lotions, to 0.3 percent by weight. If you have a 12-ounce beverage, 0.3 percent is 1.02 grams or 1,020 milligrams.

These high-potency cannabis products — often drinks sold in brightly colored cans and combined with caffeine and sugar — are worlds away from joints smoked by previous generations. A recent New York Times report tells the story of a young woman who was using cannabis vape pens regularly when she started having occasions where she passed out in the shower or vomited repeatedly.

“It wasn’t until 2021, after a half dozen trips to the emergency room for stomach illness, including some hospital stays, that a gastroenterologist diagnosed her with cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a condition that causes recurrent vomiting in heavy marijuana users,” the story states.

Iowa has about 1,000 registered consumable hemp manufacturers and retailers, Parker said. The registration fee is $475 for both groups. Although the state has no age restrictions for purchasing these products, some retailers have set their own age limits, he said.

Regulating Iowa’s consumable program has been challenging, with some Iowa-based registrants complaining last year the state was overrun with unlicensed product.

Limitations on these high-THC products and who can buy them likely will take legislation, Parker said. But because the medical marijuana program and consumable hemp programs were merged July 1 as part of a government reorganization, there currently is no governing board over consumable hemp.

Parker said he will talk further with the Cannabidiol Board and with the Iowa attorney general and Department of Public Safety to consider proposing legislation for the session that starts in January.

“We’re all trying to figure out how we get better education out there and see what that looks like and how we get action,” he said. “It would take legislation on some of the health and safety gaps if there is the appetite there.”

Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com