On Oct. 1, 2016, Colorado implemented a host of new marijuana rules that included a new universal symbol stamped on edibles, the barring of certain language on pot products, as well as equivalency regulations for retail marijuana.
The change in equivalency regulations was a big shift for Colorado’s cannabis industry, says Maureen McNamara, who founded Cannabis Trainers, a provider of training services and education for marijuana businesses.
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“For years, since Jan. 1 of 2014, it was 1 ounce of flower or its equivalence of infused products, and most clients were doing straight math on that,” she says. “So that was 28,000 milligrams of infused products.
“And concentrates weren’t even mentioned in the rules. So this really needed to be cleaned up.”
Here’s a look at the new equivalency math and the purchase limits: an ounce of flower is equal to 8 grams of concentrate, which is also equal to 80 servings of edibles with a standard dosage of 10 milligrams THC (or 800 milligrams total of THC).
Knowing that might not be the easiest to remember immediately, McNamara says she developed a system using a pie analogy to help those numbers stick.
Eight is the common theme among those three categories — typical orders of cannabis flower can include various strains purchased as eighths, or one-eighth of an ounce; the 8 grams of concentrate; and the 800 milligrams of edibles.
“We divided that into eight slices … and thinking of each slice as a way to purchase,” she says. “What’s helpful about this visual is when people mix and match.”
And so, one slice is an eighth of flower or a gram of concentrate or 100 milligrams of edibles.
