An octagon-shaped red stop sign may soon grace the packaging of edible marijuana products being sold in Colorado. This proposal is said to be part of authorities' efforts to make marijuana-infused products more distinct for consumers.
The people behind the proposal wanted more than just apparent labels so they recommended putting the letters "THC" on each individual edible.
This may be a good move for the state, considering the different events that have happened previously. In the past, incorporating misleading features such as cartoon characters on pot-containing products had been prohibited by the state.
Making marijuana products that closely resemble common food items, such as candies, has also been banned. Nonetheless, reports of unknowing consumption of pot have been noted from time to time. In 2014, a man who attended the Denver County Fair was admitted to the hospital after eating chocolate, which he did not know had pot in it.
"The public and are children have had no way of differentiating between candy soda and food that has marijuana and one that doesn't," said Diane Carlson, a spokesperson from Smart Colorado. Previous proposals suggest labeling marijuana edibles with a weed-leaf sign; however, regulators rejected it as a group of parents said that the leaf photo would attract, instead of drive kids away.
Carlson has been active in imparting knowledge about marijuana use and initiating modifications in marijuana products. Edible marijuana may be incorporated in brownies, cookies, beverages and sauces, among many others. For her, kids have been subjected to increasingly hazardous surroundings so it is necessary to at least provide them with tools that can help them determine if a food product has marijuana or not, she adds.
The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division was working on a new set of guidelines for edible marijuana, when the proposed amendments in marijuana labeling were released. Regulators have until January 2016 to enact the proposal that suggests edible marijuana products to have a distinct label even outside its packaging. By the end of the month, a public hearing will take place.
"As a manufacturer we are happy to comply with something as simple as a stamp on a pill or a candy, something that makes sense," said Julie Dooley, an edible marijuana manufacturer. "However, there are products [for which] it doesn't." For her company, it boils down to whether a need to do something is present or not. "Is there a significant crisis present in the state that warrants such regulation?"
