Parents who grow their own edible marijuana have no idea how their 3-year-old daughter ingested it

“If you can’t tell the difference, how could a three-year-old?”

“Many people are surprised to learn that marijuana intoxication results in about 450,000 emergency room admissions a year,” said Kevin Sabet, executive director of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, in a statement. “A psychotic break is not so uncommon among this population.

After two deaths related to psychotic breaks, colorado lawmakers passed legislation Monday in the House of Representatives to

set possession limits for concentrated forms of marijuana such as hash oil, and to make cookies, candy and other foods infused with pot more easily identifiable.

“Depending on your body type, edibles can take up to two hours to fully take effect. Be careful; start with a single 10 mg serving or less, and don’t take more until you wait at least two hours. Most importantly, keep edibles far away from children and pets,” said Michael Elliott, executive director of the Marijuana Industry Group, in a statement.

But industry officials aren’t thrilled with the edibles bill, which will require the state Department of Revenue to adopt rules by Jan. 1, 2016, that require edible retail pot products “to be shaped, stamped, colored, or otherwise marked with a standard symbol indicating that it contains marijuana and is not for consumption by children.”

During a committee hearing, proponents brought paper cups with pot-infused gummy bears and other candies that looked like the real thing. Each piece may contain up to 10 mg of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

“If you can’t tell the difference, how could a three-year-old?” said Republican state Rep. Frank McNulty.

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An accident waiting to happen, and an invitation to overconsumption

Denver Post columnist Vincent Carroll purchased the ginger snap marijuana cookie from a marijuana shop in downtown Denver Thursday. He writes,

The cookie contains 100 milligrams of THC, or 10 times what the state designates as a single "serving" for a marijuana edible.

Levy Thamba, the college student who jumped to his death last month, ate a marijuana cookie with six times the recommended amount of THC. He awoke repeatedly in what his friends described as an incoherent state, eventually smashing furniture, according to a Denver Post story, before bolting over a railing and into a fatal fall.

It would be criminal to take my ginger cookie out of its package and leave it on a desk or kitchen counter where some unsuspecting friend might see it. Absent the wrapper, there is simply no way to know it is anything but a harmless treat.

Thamba's death and the arrest this week of Richard Kirk, who allegedly killed his wife in Denver after consuming the edible "Karma Kandy Orange Ginger," should add new urgency to rule-making.

Alcohol comes in unmistakable containers, not infused in baked goods and candy. No one confuses a bottle of beer with a cola.

Some people will always overindulge in their drug of choice. But they should do so by clear choice, not by mistake.

I voted for Amendment 64 and have defended its implementation from those who seek to chip away at its edges. I also know people with serious medical conditions who consider marijuana edibles a godsend.

But this ginger snap cookie on my desk makes me very uneasy. It's both an accident waiting to happen and an invitation to overconsumption.

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