SJC Revises Description To Include Reference to Marijuana Edibles Market
BOSTON – Today, the Supreme Judicial Court, while allowing the ballot question that would legalize the commercial marijuana industry in Massachusetts to move forward, has revised the one-sentence ballot description of a yes vote to make explicit that marijuana edibles would be legalized.
Marijuana edibles account for approximately 50% of marijuana product sales in Colorado since legalization. The ballot question places no restriction on the potency of these products, which have THC levels as high as 90% in Colorado. Edible products include candies like gummy bears and swedish fish, chocolate bars, cookies, and sodas.
Statement from Corey Welford, Spokesperson for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts Campaign
“We are pleased the SJC has recognized that this ballot question would usher in an entirely new marijuana edibles market and that voters must be informed of that fact. Under this proposal, the Marijuana Industry would be allowed to promote and sell these highly potent products, in the form of gummy bears and other candies, that are a particular risk for accidental use by kids.”
Fact
A major part of the Marijuana Industry’s profit goals Marijuana Edibles now account for approximately 50% of marijuana product sales in Colorado since legalization, and that number is growing.
Highly potent products
There is no limit on the potency of edible products in Colorado, nor are limits written into the proposed law in Massachusetts
Edible products have been known to have THC levels reaching as high as 50 to 95%. That compares to the THC in current marijuana joints that average 17-18% THC, and typical marijuana THC levels of 3-4% that existed back in the 1980s.
A danger for kids
Marijuana infused products such as gummy bears, candy bars, cookies, and “cannabis cola” are often indistinguishable from traditional products.
These products are attractive to children, placing them at risk of accidental use.
Doctors at Children’s Hospital Denver reported that, after legalization, the ER began treating one to two kids a month for accidental marijuana ingestion, mostly in the form of edibles. Prior to legalization, they reported none.[1]
For example, in 2014, a two-year old girl from Longmont, Colorado was sent to the hospital after accidentally eating a marijuana cookie she found in front of her apartment building.
[1] USA Today, “Kids Getting into parents’ pot-laced goodies,” April 2, 2014. (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/02/marijuana-pot-edibles-colorado/7154651/)