Steady Shift

Many new regulations on cannabis in Colorado will take effect in the New Year on January 1, 2018. Hundreds of pages worth of rule updates are designed to make Colorado safer for both consumers as well as entrepreneurs in the cannabis industry. Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) finalized the rule changes. The new rule updates will fill in the some of the gaps of regulations concerning medical and recreational cannabis.

“Our guiding principles are to make rules that are always transparent, systematic, operable, grounded in law and defensible, so that licensees can efficiently comply with consistency.”

The cleanup legislation includes a few highlights such as simplified labeling requirements for flower, concentrates and edibles. Requirements for training methods, business location transfers and testing were also improved.

The changes are long overdue. Recently, the MED was forced to recall products from Starbuds and Tree of Wellness. The new testing requirements, the division says, will improve the system by implementing more frequent testing and preventing larger recalls from happening. “These rules help to ensure that all marijuana that comes into the market is not contaminated, accurately labeled and stays out of the hands of children,” Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR) Mike Hartman stated in a press release. “Additionally, these new licenses offer opportunities for research and development in this industry, so collectively, the state and the industry can maintain the emphasis on public health and safety.”

The new legislation includes HB17-1034, SB16-040, HB17-1367, SB17-187 and SB17-192. Under HB17-1367, a new program will be implemented by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment enabling organizations to publicly register medical cannabis research products. Cannabis business owners will be eligible to apply for licenses for both private and public research projects. Any transfers of cannabis for research purposes will be regulated under Colorado’s existing inventory tracking system.

Many small changes will also soon take effect. HB17-1034 addresses licensing changes to the medical cannabis code. SB17-187 adds an exemption to the residency requirement for education-related cannabis occupational licenses. SB17-192 implements additional provisions to cannabis businesses, enabling them to operate more efficiently. SB16-040 changes the requirements for owners of a cannabis business concerning appropriations.

The new packaging and labeling requirements are strict, but businesses will have a six-month grace period in order to transition. The rules were designed to make it harder for children to find their way into cannabis products.

“Our guiding principles are to make rules that are always transparent, systematic, operable, grounded in law and defensible, so that licensees can efficiently comply with consistency,” Jim Burack, director of MED, stated in a release. “Licensees and industry stakeholders have been thoroughly and actively engaged in the legislative and rulemaking process, and we incorporated stakeholder feedback wherever we could.”

The MED will continue to offer updates and tips on staying in compliance with the ever-growing list of regulations that affect everyone in the industry.