Colorado Lawmakers Want to Ban Edibles That Look Like Regular Candy

Colorado's weed industry continues to boom like crazy, with new cannabis products hitting the shelves seemingly every day. Some of them look just like regular gummi bears or other candy, and that's something state lawmakers want to put an end to.

A House committee has granted initial approval to a bill that would ban edibles shaped like fruits, animals, or people, reports the Associated Press, with the intention of preventing kids from mistaking them for regular candy. But while some makers of pot products have already voluntarily agreed to stop making candies shaped like people or animals, some worry that the proposed law could go too far, "because it could be interpreted to ban shapes that unintentionally look like fruits, such as an orange-colored circle."

The proposed new rules are much less restrictive than a 2014 proposal by the state's Department of Public Health and Environment, which (briefly) sought to ban almost all edibles. A number of children have been hospitalized after accidentally eating cannabis-infused products.

As the AP notes, edibles have faced several rounds of increased regulations since recreational marijuana sales began in 2014; "First, lawmakers limited the potency of serving sizes, then required each serving size to be individually wrapped because some consumers were eating too many servings." Starting this fall, new rules will require every piece of food or candy to be inscribed with the letters "THC".

A number of celebrities have recently announced they're getting into the edibles (or drinkables) game: Whoopi Goldberg is launching her own line of chocolates, and rapper The Game is releasing THC-infused lemonades.