Police officer says pot edibles have the potential to hurt kids

DELTA, B.C. Const. Derek Gallamore was shocked when his department in Delta, B.C., busted a woman allegedly selling weed-laced brownies with 40 times the recommended single dose of THC.

The sugary treat looked identical to a regular grocery store confection, but packed a whopping 400 milligrams of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Gallamore imagined what might happen if a toddler came across the dessert. “There were no warning labels for children,” he said.

Though cannabis was legalized Oct. 17, edibles will not be legal until sometime within the next year. But that hasn’t stopped entrepreneurs from cooking up pot-infused candies, cookies and other items and selling them online or in dispensaries. Photos provided by Gallamore show other items seized were in professional-looking packaging. A rice cereal treat had the words “Keep away from children” in small letters, but blue raspberry gummies were in a clear bag and looked like regular candy.

The federal government is set to launch consultations in the coming months on edible regulations, and it’s considering requiring a standardized cannabis symbol on labels and banning product forms, ingredients and flavouring agents that appeal to kids.

Effects of edibles are delayed compared with marijuana consumed by smoking, putting users at risk of overconsumption, and the items are often sweet treats that appeal to children, said Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, a medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health.

“It is unpleasant to consume too much cannabis and people can feel nauseous, they can vomit, they can feel sweaty, they can feel anxious

It is unpleasant to consume too much cannabis and people can feel nauseous, they can vomit, they can feel sweaty ...

and paranoid and even have psychosis if they consume enough,” he said, adding it’s going to be tricky for the government to ensure that edibles aren’t kid-friendly, but are still appetizing to adults.

Gallamore said his focus now is educating parents and youth about the dangers of edibles.

“If you do consume these things, lock them up. Make them safe.”