“They’ve got a strange interpretation of the law” said Peter Johnson, founder and CEO of Colorado Green Tours, in response to Denver hotel regulations around smoking marijuana on balconies. Denver ordinances make it illegal to consume marijuana in “open and public” places, which includes almost all businesses and all public places. With these types of restrictions and the now easy accessibility to marijuana shops, public officials are raising concerns about the safety and welfare of marijuana consumers. Officials are especially concerned about users consuming edible marijuana products or using vape pens, which can be difficult to decipher from e-cigarettes or regular non-laced food items due to their high level of potency and potential lethality.
"If you're smoking a vape pen that looks exactly like an e-cigarette, or if you're eating a brownie," Sederberg argues, "you are not consuming marijuana openly." Denver ordinances make it nearly impossible to consume marijuana in public but now officials are raising concerns about the enforceability of their ordinances due to the difficulty of deciphering a marijuana infused food item or vape pen versus a regular food item or e-cigarette. Additionally, there are concerns about the health of marijuana consumers and the general public that may encounter high individuals on the roads or in public.
“The marijuana in those pot brownies isn’t the only thing that can potentially make consumers sick. The industry and regulators are taking a closer look at how marijuana-infused edibles are made.” The Boston Globe reports that food safety testing is just around the corner for edible marijuana sellers, which is likely to add a level of credibility to the industry. “ . . . [it will] create that public confidence that we’re not just a bunch of stupid kids throwing marijuana into cookies and putting them on the market,’’ said Jazzmine Hall-Oldham, general manager of Bakked, which makes cannabis concentrates and marijuana-infused chocolate bars.
Clover Leaf University is committed to educating for responsible production, sale, and consumption of cannabis products so that we are taking a safe path into the future of the industry. There are three upcoming courses on July 8th committed to the subject of industry-wide responsibility. Click the links below for more information:
