Sponsor proposes halving THC serving size for edibles; proponents cite child-safety data and opponents worry about market impact

Representative Jody Etchart told the Senate Business and Labor Committee that House Bill 636 would change Montana's edible marijuana rules so each edible unit is a single serving and that a single serving's THC would be reduced from 10 milligrams to 5 milligrams.

Why it matters: Supporters — including medical and public-health witnesses — said reducing per-piece potency and standardizing serving sizes would reduce accidental ingestion and acute psychiatric and medical events among children and inexperienced adult users. Industry witnesses said Montana's current limits are already among the strictest and warned the change could increase packaging cost and shift demand to unregulated products.

Sponsor Jody Etchart told the committee the bill "decreases the milligrams from 10 to 5" per serving while keeping the package limit at 100 milligrams. "One gummy can only have 5 milligrams of THC. It can't have any more than that, and there can't be multiple servings to a gummy. It has to be 1 gummy is 1 serving."

Public-health and prevention…