AS MY POT COLUMNIST colleague Vince Sliwoski pointed out in his Ask a Pot Lawyer column last week, early recreational sales for cannabis edibles, extracts, and topicals will begin in Oregon on June 2. The edibles must stay at a low dose of 15 milligrams or less, while edibles sold to medical patients won't have a THC limit, just like
at present.
Why the difference between recreational and medical users?
Safety is the prime motivator, because we can't have people eating edibles and acting in a manner psychologists and mental health professionals call "coconut bonkers in the dome."
Potential litigation also comes into play, as a recent lawsuit in Denver proves. On April 14, 2014, Richard Kirk purchased a "Karma Kandy Orange Ginger" edible, a Tootsie Roll-sized candy that contained 100 milligrams of THC. Within hours, his wife Kristine called 911, as Richard was "ranting about the end of the world and jumping in and out of windows," according to the Denver Post. Shortly thereafter, he shot and killed her. The partially eaten candy was later found in his home.
Kristine Kirk's parents and sister, who became legal guardians for the couple's three children, filed the lawsuit, which named both the company that manufactured the edible and the company that sold it to Kirk as defendants. The lawyers for the plaintiffs contended, "Edibles themselves are not the evil, it is the failure to warn, the failure to properly dose, the failure to tell the consumer how to safely use edibles, that is the evil." The two companies "negligently, recklessly, and purposefully concealed vital dosage and labelling information from their actual and prospective purchasers, including Kirk, in order to make a profit," the lawsuit stated. The suit moved Colorado in January 2015 to require that recreational edibles be portioned in increments of 10 milligrams or less of THC, or wrapped individually.
Let's be clear: This is a horrible tragedy. But just what size of a role did cannabis play?