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Earlier this week, Colorado started enforcing a ban on gummy bear (and other animal-shaped) edibles. The legislation, which was approved last year but only recently went into effect, is an effort to keep cannabis out of the hands of children.
How big is this issue, anyway?
Colorado has seen a 34% increase in children ingesting marijuana after legalization took effect. [tweet this]
While poison control centers get more calls about children drinking household cleaners than digesting edibles, this increase is still troubling and something the industry has been working to address. Edibles already needed to be wrapped in child-proof packaging, but lawmakers were looking to altogether ban the practice of making pot candy look like real candy.
With many companies looking to appeal to adults, and having over a year to prepare, phasing out these edibles has been generally met with support.
Why is this important?
Regulating marijuana sales is key in ensuring its success and largely accepted across the industry.
How and to what extent regulation occurs, however, is still up for debate. Washington State, for example, requires products to be approved by the government before being sold, which hinders industry growth and causes inconsistencies (such as rejecting a product for being the wrong color yellow).
Ultimately, each state will have to strike a balance in how they want to regulate cannabis. This will continue to shape the industry and significantly impact what products you see hit shelves. Let’s just pray cannabis-infused BBQsauce never goes away  . |
