Monday, October 20, 2014

Are Marijuana Edibles in Trouble in Colorado?

Posted By on Mon, Oct 20, 2014 at 5:00 PM

Image courtesy of Shutterstock
  • Image courtesy of Shutterstock

As always, you have to think of the children, and since several in Colorado have apparently gotten sick by eating marijuana edibles, regulators in the state are considering several routes to increasing safety, including severely restricting the type of edibles available, possibly to just hard lozenges and tinctures.

"If the horse wasn't already out of the barn, I think that would be a nice proposal for us to put on the table," said Karin McGowan, the department's deputy executive director.

Talking to reporters after the workgroup reviewed the department's proposal, McGowan insisted the edibles ban was just one of several proposals under review by pot regulators.

Lawmakers have ordered state pot regulators to require pot-infused food and drink to have a distinct look when they are out of the packaging. The order came after concerns about the proliferation of pot-infused treats that many worry could be accidentally eaten by children.

It does seem likely that some sort of increased distinction between a cannabis-infused edible item and its mainstream counterpart might be necessary, especially for items that come in a multiple-use option, but a ban seems somewhat impossible, considering a) edibles are quite popular and b) people can still make their own edibles, even if they can't buy them in stores. Still, Colorado (and Washington) are interesting test cases for the seemingly inevitable day when a fuller form of legalization hits Arizona and THC gummy bears (and the like) are available to a non-card holding general public.

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