There are a lot of news stories about children accidentally eating cannabis infused candies and cookies because they looked identical to the food they’d normally be eating. Perhaps you know someone who didn’t learn until it was far too late that the brownies they just consumed were infused with enough tetrahydrocannabinol to make Cheech and Chong blush? Upon hearing all of these stories one can’t help but ask the question: Is there any way to prevent these cannabis mix-ups from happening?
Even though you can’t die from eating too many edibles, consuming cannabis infused foods when you aren’t prepared or planning on it could make you fail a drug test, miss work or class, or potentially cause an accident. It’s entirely true that more children end up in the emergency room for eating common household items like dryer pods or drinking hand sanitizer and bleach every year, than for cannabis edibles but if it does happen there’s a strong chance you could end up on the local news.
After receiving pressure from concerned parents and legislators, Colorado took action and required all cannabis infused food to be marked with a Safety Symbol on the actual product, not just the label. This means that even outside the package, both children and adults would be able to identify whether or not their food contains cannabis.
The California State Senate unanimously passed a bill identical to Colorado’s but they have yet to require edible companies to mark their food products. The other legal states seem content leaving edibles unmarked but this creates a precarious situation for consumers when their cannabis treats look exactly like normal food. Consumers currently have an option to put their edibles in a food storage lockbox. This is a practical step towards protecting others from accidental consumption, but even the most careful among us can accidentally drop a gummy bear or misplace a cookie somewhere to be found by an unassuming adult or child. What are their options?
Baked Smart, the creator of Cannacals™, has created fun edible green cross safety decals that can easily be applied to most foods. When Baked Smart co-founders Leah and Michael met in Portland, they quickly realized they shared a vision of establishing themselves in the emerging cannabis industry. Identifying the need for a more common sense approach to edibles safety was the catalyst for creating Baked Smart. The green cross decals are made of sugar and cornstarch and are easy to apply. Baked Smart’s home kits give consumers a fun and easy way to mark dispensary bought edibles or their homemade cannabis creations. They are the first to bring a tool to help consumers mark their edibles and prevent accidental consumption but this is only the beginning.
As more and more states legalize cannabis, new and innovative ways for consumers to mark their edibles will begin appearing. Adding a safety symbol to cannabis-infused foods is a small extra step well worth taking to ensure customers can easily spot the pot. With 2018 now here and cannabis legalization facing more challenges than ever, it is in everyone’s best interest to present the cannabis community as proactive, responsible, and willing to make positive changes everyone needs for an overall safer industry.
Chase Rader