|
 In 2014 Colorado became the first state to allow the sale of
marijuana for recreational use, and it has grown to be a billion
dollar industry in the state.
The measure by State Representative Dan Pabon, a Democrat from
Denver, would prohibit edible marijuana to be sold in the form of an
animal, human or fruit, common shapes for gummy candies favored by
young children.
"Right now in Colorado, there are no distinguishing characteristics
between the gummy bear that contains marijuana and one that does
not," Palon said.
The appeal of edible marijuana products to children has become a
concern in the few U.S. states that have legalized pot in recent
years.
In Washington state, where legal pot has been on sale for about 18
months, regulators recently tightened the rules on edible products
made with cannabis, said Rick Garza, director of the Washington
State Liquor and Cannabis board.
The new restrictions outlawed brightly colored marijuana lollipops
and other sweets deemed to be particularly attractive to children,
Gar said.
Numerous children in Colorado were hospitalized after becoming
critically ill as a result of ingesting edible marijuana products
after pot became legal there in 2014, and lawmakers have already
moved once to toughen the rules.
But Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper has urged the legislature
to do more, saying in his State of the State address in January that
pot-laced edibles look too much like "products kids can find in the
candy aisle."
[to top of second column] |
"Back in the day, candy cigarettes desensitized kids to the dangers
of tobacco - and today, pot-infused gummy bears send the wrong
message to our kids about marijuana," Hickenlooper said.
Pabon's bill, submitted on Thursday, directs the state's marijuana
regulatory agency to develop more detailed guidelines on how
enforcing the ban on marijuana candies shaped like humans, animals
or fruit would work.
Voters in four U.S. states and the District of Columbia approved
ballot measures to legalize marijuana for recreational use by adults
in recent years. Numerous others allow medicinal use.
Advocates have pushed for similar referendums in a half-dozen other
states, including California, Massachusetts and Maine.
In Maine, a proposed legalization referendum advanced on Friday when
a judge overruled a state official's decision invalidating some of
the signatures needed to get the initiative on the ballot.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, California; Additional
reporting by Scott Malone in Boston; Editing by Sara Catania and Dan
Grebler)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
