Cannabis Reform Continues Nationally & Internationally

Developments
in the United States continue to shake up cannabis reform both domestically and
internationally. Major developments in the last week included:

·        
New Mexico’s state Department of Health
deciding against criminal background checks for patients engaged in home
growing.

·        
German Administrative Court in Cologne approving
medical home grows for first time.

·        
Michigan’s State Senate moves cannabis reform
bills forward after months of delay.

·        
Washington state recreational market
institutes tough regulations on edibles as national trade group also releases
additional guidelines.

Washington
State cannabis sales continue at a brisk pace as the first fortnight of
recreational legalization comes to a close. Just like in Colorado, edibles are also
selling well. By some estimates, edibles represent as much as 50 percent of the
entire legal cannabis market. That said, they have also proved to be highly
controversial in terms of regulation, packaging and content in particular. One
of the reasons that cannabis candy has been banned in the state is the fear that
children will consume it as “regular” candy.

Taking
a page from Colorado’s (short) history book however, Washington State lawmakers
implemented the recreational market with far stricter regulations on this
aspect. Retail shops, as a result, can sell baked goods that contain cannabis
along with drinks and sodas—however sweets, such as hard candy or gummy
edibles—are still illegal.

Washington
State has also clearly taken advantage of the additional time it had to prepare
for the recreational market by publishing a comprehensive process to regulate
the edible substances. Companies must submit photos of products and packaging
(including labelling) as part of the state regulatory approval process. Edibles
manufacturers must also comply with facilities inspections and submit products
for testing.

Regulations
in both Washington State and Colorado are being complemented on a national
level by the additional release of the first national regulatory guidelines for
manufactured edible products, released last week. The American Herbal Products
Association (AHPA) distributed the nation’s first business guidelines for the
manufacturing, packaging, labelling and storage of goods containing cannabis.