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 witnesses presented data and anecdotes. A certified prevention specialist representing the Montana Alliance for Prevention said DPHHS data show that in 2023 "60 percent of all cannabis related poisonings, poison control calls were for kids under the age 10," and that hospitalizations and emergency-department visits had increased among adolescents and young adults. Liana Troesh of Safe Montana, a behavioral-health advocate, supported the measure and said the bill brings Montana into alignment with other states' best practices on serving size and packaging transition timelines.

Health-care and clinical witnesses including Megan Zawacki, a practicing PA in addiction medicine, said standardizing serving sizes helps clinicians counsel patients about dosing and interactions with other medicines. Zawacki said clinicians currently face uncertainty when patients report edible use: "When we get into the cannabinoids, I'm at a loss because gummies are not all created equal and they tell me they're taking half a gummy versus a whole gummy and we're kind of in the weeds a little bit."

Industry witnesses pushed back. Evan Kajander, speaking for the Montana marijuana industry, noted Montana's current statutory limits (10 mg per serving, 100 mg per package) already rank among the stricter state limits: "I would argue that Montana has the lowest potency limits for edibles in the country because they do already at 10 milligrams, 100 milligrams."

Other opponents noted a difference between regulated dispensary products and black-market or mail-order intoxicating-hemp products outside state testing and regulatory reach. Mariah Bond, a worker in the industry, and Antoinette Lininger (opponent) said regulated retailers already label dosing and that legal businesses follow childproof packaging rules; industry witnesses said the market already sells lower-dose pieces, but that the change will raise packaging costs because more individually portioned pieces will be needed in a 100 mg package if each piece is 5 mg.

Regulatory and technical questions: Committee members and regulatory witnesses discussed whether an edible bar or chocolate can be guaranteed to contain exact dose-per-section placements, since food-processing variability can affect how precisely a single section yields a target dose. Department of Commerce/CCD staff confirmed dispensary products must be tested for potency and that test results (COA) follow products, and that packaging must be child-resistant. But witnesses and senators also raised concerns about intoxicating hemp and mail-order products that may not be tested or regulated.

Implementation timing: Sponsor Etchart included a delayed effective date in the bill (July 1, 2026) to let businesses exhaust current inventory and change packaging.

Where it stands: The committee heard multiple proponents and opponents. The sponsor closed asking the committee to pass and concur; no vote was recorded during the hearing.

Ending: The hearing centered on child-safety arguments and a trade-off between smaller per-piece doses and industry concerns about packaging costs and potential market churn to unregulated sources.