The General
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When it comes to rookie marijuana consumers interested in a cannabis-infused lemon candied ginger or chocolate chip cookie, Sellwood dispensary owner Sam Chapman offers this advice: Start with a bite, maybe two. Wait about hour for the cannabis to take affect. It's a lesson New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd recently learned the hard way. Dowd bit into a cannabis-infused candy bar, didn't feel anything right away, so she bit off some more. She ended up in what she described as a "hallucinatory state for the next eight hours," a now-famously bad trip that's turned the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist into the subject of ridicule, particularly among marijuana consumers.
But some say Dowd's experience raises important questions for states like Oregon as they grapple with the booming market for infused-products, ranging from sodas and ice cream to cookies and caramels. In Oregon, regulation of infused products is limited mostly to keeping them out of the hands of children. Colorado and Washington require infused products on their recreational marijuana markets to carry warnings about delayed onset, though such labels are not required for medical marijuana products in either state. In Washington, where recreational marijuana shops are expected to open this summer, the warning states: "Caution: When eaten or swallowed, the intoxicating effects of this drug may be delayed by 2 or more hours." Colorado's warning label is similar.
Colorado officials are considering tightening rules for edible products to address what Andrew Livingston, a policy analyst for Vicente Sederberg, a Denver law firm instrumental in crafting rules for recreational marijuana, called "over-ingestion episodes" involving infused products. The current rules allow up to 100 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, per product, even though the recommended dose is 10 milligrams. That means a small candy bar or peanut butter cup containing the maximum amount of THC allowed under the rules would have to be divided into 10 pieces to meet the recommended dose for a single amount.
Livingston said the marijuana market in Colorado is adjusting from catering to the taste and tolerance of the medical marijuana consumer, typically more savvy users of cannabis, to the novice recreational one. "There is a learning curve when it comes to infused products," he said. "Frustratingly, they are used to a consumer base used to high potency edibles." In Oregon, at least one producer of marijuana treats is already adding consumer warnings about delayed onset to his packages. Jerry Pardo, whose line of Mt. Hood Extracts caramels is sold in Oregon dispensaries, changed his labels about two weeks ago.
Rob Bovett, a former prosecutor and legal counsel for the Association of Oregon Counties, said such warning labels should be required. He said he will push for legislation next year allowing the Oregon Health Authority to regulate the labeling of cookies, candies and other treats, often called medibles. "A lot of folks don't understand that when you smoke marijuana, it crosses the blood-brain barrier almost immediately, whereas when you are ingesting medibles, it takes a lot longer to get to your brain," said Bovett. Chapman said that while Dowd's experience with marijuana was unfortunate, the incident underscores the responsibilities of infused product makers as well as consumers.
For now, he said, Oregon producers and dispensaries should advise patients about how the products work. Eventually, though, consumers should assume more responsibility for their own safety, he said. Chapman said his employees at Green Oasis take extra care with people new to cannabis or infused products. "We are much more cautious and protective with those patients," he said. "We tell them, 'Eat a bite or two' ... and see how you feel. We tell them it's not going to kick in right away. "This is something no one told Maureen apparently," said Chapman. Don Morse, who operates The Human Collective II, a Southwest Portland dispensary, said patients should be informed about infused products, but he doesn't want to see the items treated any differently from alcohol or tobacco.
Ultimately, he said, it's up to patients to take responsibility for their marijuana use. "A 6-pack of beer doesn't come with a label — 'Have one and wait to see how you feel before you have more,'" he said. "You have to have personal responsibility. "If you are going to skydive, you do a little research on what it's all about and on the company that you are going to use to take you up 4,000 feet," said Morse. "You don't wake up one day and go to the airport."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Oregonlive.com
Author: Noelle Crombie
Contact: Contact Us || Oregonian Media Group
Website: Medical marijuana in Oregon: Should cannabis-infused products sold in dispensaries carry warning labels? | OregonLive.com
But some say Dowd's experience raises important questions for states like Oregon as they grapple with the booming market for infused-products, ranging from sodas and ice cream to cookies and caramels. In Oregon, regulation of infused products is limited mostly to keeping them out of the hands of children. Colorado and Washington require infused products on their recreational marijuana markets to carry warnings about delayed onset, though such labels are not required for medical marijuana products in either state. In Washington, where recreational marijuana shops are expected to open this summer, the warning states: "Caution: When eaten or swallowed, the intoxicating effects of this drug may be delayed by 2 or more hours." Colorado's warning label is similar.
Colorado officials are considering tightening rules for edible products to address what Andrew Livingston, a policy analyst for Vicente Sederberg, a Denver law firm instrumental in crafting rules for recreational marijuana, called "over-ingestion episodes" involving infused products. The current rules allow up to 100 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, per product, even though the recommended dose is 10 milligrams. That means a small candy bar or peanut butter cup containing the maximum amount of THC allowed under the rules would have to be divided into 10 pieces to meet the recommended dose for a single amount.
Livingston said the marijuana market in Colorado is adjusting from catering to the taste and tolerance of the medical marijuana consumer, typically more savvy users of cannabis, to the novice recreational one. "There is a learning curve when it comes to infused products," he said. "Frustratingly, they are used to a consumer base used to high potency edibles." In Oregon, at least one producer of marijuana treats is already adding consumer warnings about delayed onset to his packages. Jerry Pardo, whose line of Mt. Hood Extracts caramels is sold in Oregon dispensaries, changed his labels about two weeks ago.
Rob Bovett, a former prosecutor and legal counsel for the Association of Oregon Counties, said such warning labels should be required. He said he will push for legislation next year allowing the Oregon Health Authority to regulate the labeling of cookies, candies and other treats, often called medibles. "A lot of folks don't understand that when you smoke marijuana, it crosses the blood-brain barrier almost immediately, whereas when you are ingesting medibles, it takes a lot longer to get to your brain," said Bovett. Chapman said that while Dowd's experience with marijuana was unfortunate, the incident underscores the responsibilities of infused product makers as well as consumers.
For now, he said, Oregon producers and dispensaries should advise patients about how the products work. Eventually, though, consumers should assume more responsibility for their own safety, he said. Chapman said his employees at Green Oasis take extra care with people new to cannabis or infused products. "We are much more cautious and protective with those patients," he said. "We tell them, 'Eat a bite or two' ... and see how you feel. We tell them it's not going to kick in right away. "This is something no one told Maureen apparently," said Chapman. Don Morse, who operates The Human Collective II, a Southwest Portland dispensary, said patients should be informed about infused products, but he doesn't want to see the items treated any differently from alcohol or tobacco.
Ultimately, he said, it's up to patients to take responsibility for their marijuana use. "A 6-pack of beer doesn't come with a label — 'Have one and wait to see how you feel before you have more,'" he said. "You have to have personal responsibility. "If you are going to skydive, you do a little research on what it's all about and on the company that you are going to use to take you up 4,000 feet," said Morse. "You don't wake up one day and go to the airport."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Oregonlive.com
Author: Noelle Crombie
Contact: Contact Us || Oregonian Media Group
Website: Medical marijuana in Oregon: Should cannabis-infused products sold in dispensaries carry warning labels? | OregonLive.com
