Packaging for marijuana edibles in Colorado will include additional details.
A symbol that includes an exclamation point and the term “THC” will be required to appear on marijuana-infused edible packaging starting Saturday, October 1. Terms such as “candy” and “candies” will no longer be permitted, and recommended dosage and serving sizes will be highly visible on the new packages. Contaminants, potency, and other information obtained from lab testing will also be required.
The new regulations were created jointly by the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division.
“The No. 1 goal here: It’s about public safety, it’s about public health, and, above all, it’s sensitive to the risk this poses to children,” said Jim Burack, director of the Marijuana Enforcement Division.
These new regulations were initially proposed last year. State officials and industry professionals worked for about a year to agree and introduce the new label requirements.
“We fully expect complete compliance,” Burack said. “And I think that licensees that we have worked with consistently as we have crafted the rule, share the concern about public safety and the necessity and understand the intent of the statute.”
Edible labeling has become a hot-button issue in the marijuana industry. Unlike smoke and vapor, it can take up to two hours for users to feel the full effects of marijuana when ingested through food.
Last year, Levy Thamba Pongi jumped off of a fourth-floor balcony in Denver after eating a 65 mg infused cookie. The 19-year-old college exchange student was from the Republic of Congo and had no prior history of drug use or mental illness. According to reports, he was told that a 10 mg serving could take up to 30 minutes to produce any effects. After 30 minutes, Pongi did not feel differently and decided to eat the entire cookie.
Pongi’s death was one of the motivating factors behind the new packaging requirements.
