One of the biggest issues surrounding marijuana legalization is the subject of edibles and concentrates, which pretty much always tend to have a much higher potency than regular cannabis flowers. In Colorado and Washington, there was definitely a learning curve when it came to dosage and packaging labels, most of which have been resolved after a couple of years of trial and error. Luckily for states like Oregon, they can look to these experiences to try and avoid having those same problems arise.
Last October, Oregon rolled out the start of their early access program that allows adults 21 and older to purchase limited amounts of cannabis flowers, seeds and young plants from medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state – and starting in June people will finally have access to purchase up to 2 edibles, extracts or tropical products per visit. We all know this means a very busy few weeks ahead for the owners of these dispensaries, and also a much higher chance that someone inexperienced will consume too much THC.
While over-consuming THC will not kill you and won’t even come close to harming you in a way similar to alcohol or any prescription medications, it can definitely leave you with quite the uncomfortable afternoon. The good news is, while can be easy to over-consume, it is also easy to ensure that doesn’t happen with just a little knowledge. Many first-timers try edibles instead of smoking because they are unsure about smoking – or they smoke all the time and think they know what they can handle, and this is what leads to many of the cases of emergency room visits or calls to poison control.
In Oregon, a group called the Oregon Responsible Edibles Council (or OREC) has officially launched their “Try 5” campaign, which encourages all consumers to start with 5 milligrams of THC and move up from there after waiting a couple of hours for the effects to kick in. They are hoping to inform everyone that most packages will contain more than one dose and that they do not need to consume the entire contents of a package.
“We want to be very proactive,” said McNicoll, whose Eugene company Dave’s Space Cakes makes mini chocolate cupcakes. “We want to show the state that we care so much about this issue and we are trying to be as safe as possible. We are willing to fund it ourselves.”
OREC has spent a total of $5,000 on t-shirts, hats and buttons as well as posters (some even printed on hemp paper) that will be distributed to dispensary workers at the 350 shops throughout Oregon. This campaign is similar to Colorado’s “Start Low and Go Slow” campaign, but OREC is being a little more aggressive about getting their message across. The idea is not to deter people from trying edibles, but rather to ensure they have the best experience possible.
