Senate Finance postpones bill to shift cannabis testing to public-health agency and tax on potency

Senate Bill 161, which sought to move cannabis product testing from the Marijuana Enforcement Division to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and to base certain cannabis taxes on product potency rather than average market weight, was postponed indefinitely by the Senate Finance Committee at the sponsors' request.

Senator Snyder, a co-prime sponsor, told the committee the proposal responded to a decade of what he described as inadequate testing and a self‑reporting system that he said had been "ripe for abuse," leading to contaminated products appearing on store shelves. He said the bill’s two central goals were stronger public‑health‑focused testing and a tax structure keyed to potency to better reflect product value and potentially discourage higher‑potency products.

Senator Mullica, a co-prime, also emphasized public‑health concerns about high‑potency concentrates and hemp‑derived intoxicants, saying stakeholders including health and youth‑safety groups raised alarm about impacts on adolescent brain development.

The sponsor asked the committee to postpone the bill indefinitely so stakeholders could continue work during the interim. Senator Snyder moved to postpone, and the clerk recorded the motion; the committee carried the motion and the bill was postponed indefinitely at the sponsor’s request.

The sponsors said they plan additional stakeholder meetings over the interim and may return with revisions in a future session.