Edibles
Colorado’s Edible Products May Get Stop Sign Warning Label
Some changes have been proposed for the Colorado cannabis industry, specifically in regards to the labeling of edible products.
The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division introduced a regulatory draft this week that suggests food items containing marijuana should come branded with a red stop sign, as well as have the word “candy” stripped from all packaging.
These rules are in response to concerns over pot edibles not being distinguishable from regular food items. In 2014, a law was passed making it mandatory for pot edibles to have a distinct appearance, and time is running out for regulators to make that happen.
Under the proposal, Colorado’s edible products would appear pretty much as you might expect; a bright-red octagon with the letters THC slapped right across the middle if it. Yet, the warning label would not just be limited to the product’s immediate packaging, it would be mandatory for it to appear on every individual item.
There was initially some support for incorporating a pot leaf into the label, but regulators decided to nix this idea out of concerns that it might be attractive to underage children, and fail to remedy the problem at hand.
The rules also seek to impose a ban on pre-made edible items. Essentially, edible manufacturers would no longer be allowed to purchase large quantities of candy and shower them with cannabis oil without changing the structure of the original product. Therefore, a company could spray bulk food items with THC, but they would then be required to incorporate that item into a secondary food product.
Some edibles producers argue that while they agree there needs to be rules on packaging, what the state is proposing is somewhat confusing, especially in regards to the “made-from-scratch rule”. There are even others who believe that there is no need for this type of labeling, and that the children-eating-pot-crisis that has brought regulators to this point is simply not real.
A public hearing on the issue is scheduled for the end of August. Regulators are required to have a pot packaging law on the books by the beginning of 2016.
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