Pubdate: Fri, 23 Aug 2013
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: John Ingold

REPORT: PROPER PACKAGING COULD CUT ACCIDENTS IN HALF

Colorado regulators could cut incidents of accidental marijuana 
ingestion by children nearly in half if they require pot to be sold 
in opaque, child-resistant packaging, according to a new report by 
researchers at the Colorado School of Public Health and Children's Hospital.

Citing research done after new regulations required child-resistant 
packaging for medications like aspirin, the researchers say Colorado 
could see a 45 percent drop in accidental marijuana ingestions by 
using similar packages. State regulators could further discourage 
accidental consumption by requiring that the packaging be opaque.

"Everything should be leaving dispensaries in approved 
child-resistant packaging," said Gregory Tung, an assistant professor 
at the Colorado School of Public Health, part of the University of 
Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus.

The report, which was released this week with the endorsement of 
several medical marijuana businesses, appears to have gotten the 
attention of officials writing the final rules for Colorado's 
recreational marijuana stores. After including a less precise 
requirement for child-resistant packaging in earlier drafts of the 
proposed rules, regulators updated the draft this week to include 
language very similar to what Tung and his colleagues have recommended.

The draft rules for packaging were reviewed Wednesday during 
rule-making hearings. The hearings, scheduled to run through 
Thursday, wrapped up a day early Wednesday. Written comments on the 
proposed rules will be accepted through Tuesday.

Accidental ingestion of marijuana by children is among the biggest 
post-legalization concerns for marijuana skeptics and advocates 
alike. After the proliferation of medical-marijuana dispensaries, 
Colorado saw an increase in emergency room visits by children who had 
ingested pot.

Jodi Duke, another of the report's authors, said child-resistant 
packages for marijuana could take many forms, such as pill bottles or 
baggies with special locking zippers. Marijuana and cannabis-infused 
products could still be displayed openly in pot shops, Duke said. 
They would just have to be placed into the child-resistant packages 
before leaving the store.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom