Concerned about the allure of edibles to children, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has piggybacked on an attempt by lawmakers to reign in sales of the products by retailers, saying that they “are naturally attractive to children” and therefore violate the “requirement to prevent the marketing of marijuana products to children.”
The recommendations came prior to a third and potentially final working group meeting today intended to draw up rules and regulations that would require all pot-laced foods and drinks to have clear, identifiable packaging in order to avoid children accidentally eating the product.
“Prohibit the production of retail edible marijuana products other than a simple lozenge/hard candy or tinctures that are plainly labeled using universal symbol(s) and that users can add to their products at home,” officials wrote in their recommendation. “Hard candy/lozenges would be manufactured in single 10 mg doses/lozenges and tinctures would be produced and labeled with dosing instructions, such as two drops equals 10 mg.”
But Mason Tvert, communications director for the advocacy group Marijuana Policy Project, said that a ban on edibles was not in line with what Colorado voters wanted in 2012 and could be a slippery slope toward further restrictions.
“Colorado voters chose to end marijuana prohibition because they wanted to see marijuana controlled,” Tvert said. “Banning edible products is the quickest way to lose all control over them.”
“The goal should be to develop effective regulations and educate consumers, not remove all regulations and keep consumers in the dark,” he said.
