Deadline Nearing For Edible Pot Rule Changes
GOLDEN, Colo. (AP/CBS4) - Colorado authorities searching for a new look for edible pot are meeting for a final time Monday to try to find a way to make edibles look distinct from other foods even when out of the package.
The Health Department plans to suggest a new state commission to give "pre-market approval" before food or drinks containing pot can be sold.
The recommendation comes a month after the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment suggested banning the sale of most kinds of edible pot. That suggestion was later dropped.
Edible pot is a booming part of Colorado's new recreational pot industry. But some fear the products look too similar to regular foods.
"(Emergency room) doctors in the Denver area tell you they are having folks come in and they are having unrelenting vomiting, erratic and violent behavior," Diane Carlson with Smart Colorado said.
Smart Colorado is an organization aimed at protecting youth from marijuana.
Edible makers say any changes to their business violate the spirit of legalized marijuana and that they can police themselves.
"None of us who are responsible adults and who are responsible makers of edibles create our candies to be eaten by children," said Joe Hodas of Dixie Elixirs, a marijuana edibles producer.
Hodas calls the potential creation of a state panel to pre-approve pot products "government over reach."
"There is no other industry where you have to submit your product plans to a committee for them to approve it," he said.
The Marijuana Enforcement Division is required to submit a recommendation to lawmakers, who make the final decision.
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