Legal
Colorado Officials Propose Ban on Edibles, Immediately Take it Back
Officials at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment recently proposed that most cannabis-infused foods be banned from dispensaries around the state. Their recommendations were to be included in a bill aimed to create more restrictive regulations on pot that can be consumed. Under the bill, officials hoped to eliminate public access to medicated cookies, brownies and various other treats made with canna-oil or butter. Reports reveal that the department also suggested that only edible products that should be legal are lozenges and tinctures.
However, once their ideas were made public, officials quickly backtracked away from the topic following an onslaught of criticism from livid industry representatives. Before the bill can be passed, a group will be put together to review the recommendation. Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division will be the department responsible for making the final call on edibles after the final legislation session in 2015.
When state voters approved the legalization of cannabis in 2012, it ended the ban on all forms of marijuana in Colorado— not just flowers, lozenges and tinctures. Mason Tvert, communications director for Marijuana Policy Project, recognizes that this push to move backwards is a waste of time, money and resources.
“Unfortunately, this debate is often driven by a small faction of people whose goal is to reinstate the failed policy of prohibition,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that so much time is being spent discussing proposed bans, when it could be spent discussing realistic approaches that could actually have the intended effect of preventing accidental and over-consumption.”
Do you medicate with edibles? Tell us in the comments.