Colorado Puts a Stop Order on Edible Marijuana Candy

Are the laws surrounding the amendment of edible marijuana packaging too lax and general that it causes confusion among consumers? The Colorado Department of Health thinks so, prompting health officials to propose for changes.

Press Examiner reports that the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division is working on releasing new guidelines for edible marijuana once the marijuana labelling rules take effect. This is due to previous practices of adding cartoon characters on the labels of marijuana-infused products, a misleading feature that the state has now prohibited.

Diane Carlson, member of Smart Colorado parenting group, shares that it is time the state of Colorado does something about preventing edible pots to be consumed by unaware consumers. The last law Colorado has passed concerning marijuana is the requirement for the packaging to be distinct, and that has been more than a year ago.

Currently, the edible marijuana industry just adds THC in pre-made sweets and food products. Most residents, especially parents, feel that its time to put a stop to that practice to avoid confusing consumers.

The new symbol that will be used is an octagon stop-sign labelled with THC to tell consumers that the product is infused with marijuana, TIME Magazine writes. The requirement also limits liquid marijuana to single-serve packaging, 10 milligrams each to be exact. This is a better labelling amendment compared to the initial suggestion of placing weed leaves design that could attract kids to buy the products even more.

Furthermore, the proposal also wishes to ban the practice of infusing pre-made products with THC, which manufacturers have complained about. Dan Anglin of the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce argues that almost all manufacturers use pre-made ingredients and it will be a big hassle for all if they start bringing in chickens at the back of the factory to produce eggs.

The proposal has been triggered by reports that young children and adults have accidentally eaten marijuana sweets, prompting state health officials to ban all edible pot sweets except for lozenges, The Deseret News confirms. However, the ban was quickly lifted after numerous complaints from the weed industry. Incidentally, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a statement requesting clearer labels and to limit the serving portion of marijuana edibles.

The new regulations will be subject to a public hearing before it gets final approval and adoption.