Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
A proposal to simplify the labels on marijuana sold in Colorado stores is generating controversy for something else it does: repeal a legal requirement to regulate the appearance of edible pot products.
In 2014, lawmakers decided that edibles needed to be easily identifiable as containing marijuana at a glance.
The current products were too easy to confuse for regular food.
"That's a threat to our kids' well-being and it's not good enough," said Sen. Owen Hill (R-Colorado Springs,) supporting the 2014 law on the senate floor. "Our desire is that you can tell outside of the packaging. That our kids can tell the difference between marijuana-infuse M&M's and regular M&M's. That our kids can tell just by looking at them, between marijuana-infused lemon drops and regular lemon drops."
State regulators are tasked with writing rules to make that happen.
But this year, it's an about-face. Hill is one of two sponsors of the bill (SB 136) which would repeal that very requirement in the law.
"What we're doing is we're moving forward in the right direction," Hill told 9NEWS on Wednesday. "Right now in the law, we're mandating that some of these rules come out. We heard from a lot of different people and there was no real consensus that we could do shaping and marking these edibles."
He's right that there was no consensus. Colorado regulators hoped a task force made up of cops, doctors, and marijuana industry reps could hatch a plan.
Ideas like using food dyes, stamped logos, outright bans, and a pre-approval process all came up, but the different sides could not come together to agree on a path forward.
Hill said there's always a chance of revisiting the edibles issue down the line. Others disagree it should be abandoned yet.
"That's what this bill takes away is the authority of the state to make sure these products are easily identifiable," said state Rep. Jonathan Singer (D-Longmont.) "Whether you're six years old or 60 years old, you should know whether you're holding an Oreo cookie or a marijuana cookie in your hand just by looking at it. And this bill takes that ability away."
Anti-marijuana group SMART Colorado also opposes the bill, saying it seeks to skirt the 2014 law.
There is some industry support for the bill, which also aims to simplify the labels of marijuana and products made with it.
Tyler Henson, who heads the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, said there's simply too much information required on labels today.
It ends up crammed into small print and largely ignored, he says.
"It's information overload," Henson said. "What happens is people just don't read the information. They don't digest it. They don't look at it."
SB 136 would take rulemaking authority on labels away from the state Department of Revenue, putting a simpler list of label requirements directly into state law.
These include the potency of the pot and a few bigger safety warnings about kids, pregnancy and driving.
A website or scannable QR code on the side of the package would link to extra information online like ingredients and detailed testing results on the marijuana.
The bill also seeks to establish an official website to host that information.
The Senate health committee hears the bill in its afternoon hearing on Thursday, where the public can comment and senators can amend it.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Bill redesigns pot labels, but not products
Author: Brandon Rittiman
Contact: newstips@9news.com
Photo Credit: New Age Medical LLC.
Website: 9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado's online news leader | Breaking
In 2014, lawmakers decided that edibles needed to be easily identifiable as containing marijuana at a glance.
The current products were too easy to confuse for regular food.
"That's a threat to our kids' well-being and it's not good enough," said Sen. Owen Hill (R-Colorado Springs,) supporting the 2014 law on the senate floor. "Our desire is that you can tell outside of the packaging. That our kids can tell the difference between marijuana-infuse M&M's and regular M&M's. That our kids can tell just by looking at them, between marijuana-infused lemon drops and regular lemon drops."
State regulators are tasked with writing rules to make that happen.
But this year, it's an about-face. Hill is one of two sponsors of the bill (SB 136) which would repeal that very requirement in the law.
"What we're doing is we're moving forward in the right direction," Hill told 9NEWS on Wednesday. "Right now in the law, we're mandating that some of these rules come out. We heard from a lot of different people and there was no real consensus that we could do shaping and marking these edibles."
He's right that there was no consensus. Colorado regulators hoped a task force made up of cops, doctors, and marijuana industry reps could hatch a plan.
Ideas like using food dyes, stamped logos, outright bans, and a pre-approval process all came up, but the different sides could not come together to agree on a path forward.
Hill said there's always a chance of revisiting the edibles issue down the line. Others disagree it should be abandoned yet.
"That's what this bill takes away is the authority of the state to make sure these products are easily identifiable," said state Rep. Jonathan Singer (D-Longmont.) "Whether you're six years old or 60 years old, you should know whether you're holding an Oreo cookie or a marijuana cookie in your hand just by looking at it. And this bill takes that ability away."
Anti-marijuana group SMART Colorado also opposes the bill, saying it seeks to skirt the 2014 law.
There is some industry support for the bill, which also aims to simplify the labels of marijuana and products made with it.
Tyler Henson, who heads the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, said there's simply too much information required on labels today.
It ends up crammed into small print and largely ignored, he says.
"It's information overload," Henson said. "What happens is people just don't read the information. They don't digest it. They don't look at it."
SB 136 would take rulemaking authority on labels away from the state Department of Revenue, putting a simpler list of label requirements directly into state law.
These include the potency of the pot and a few bigger safety warnings about kids, pregnancy and driving.
A website or scannable QR code on the side of the package would link to extra information online like ingredients and detailed testing results on the marijuana.
The bill also seeks to establish an official website to host that information.
The Senate health committee hears the bill in its afternoon hearing on Thursday, where the public can comment and senators can amend it.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Bill redesigns pot labels, but not products
Author: Brandon Rittiman
Contact: newstips@9news.com
Photo Credit: New Age Medical LLC.
Website: 9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado's online news leader | Breaking
