A moment, please, on the latest from the Wild, Wild, ever Wilder West:
The business section isn't the place where you usually find the paper's horror stories. They're supposed to be limited to the reviews of scare flicks.
But there it was, a story in Saturday's business section, about . . . edible pot. And scary ain't the half of it.
Now that Colorado has legalized marijuana for recreational use--that's the next step after a state legalizes medical marijuana--folks out there are putting dope in their food. And not just their own food. Comes word from the Associated Press that some businesses in Colorado now offer weed in their cookies and cupcakes.
And because marijuana is still technically illegal under federal law, there are no federal regulations or inspectors dealing with, say, marijuana brownies. State and local governments are left on their own to patch together some sort of "system" that regulates food with cannabis in it.
So in Colorado, the outfit that's given this unwelcome chore is . . . that state's Department of Revenue.
Oh, Lord. So the more dope is sold, the better for the state treasury? Talk about perverse initiatives.
Word has it that the accountants at the Dept. of Rev. out in Colorado have now required pot bakers and sellers to, uh, wash their hands frequently and, uh, meet the same sanitation requirements as, say the local McDonald's. There. That ought to take care of any problems.
Talk about getting baked. You'd be forgiven if you assumed somebody was high when they came up with this not so regulatory system. Already, two deaths in Denver have been connected to eating dope.
The New York Times says hospitals in Colorado are treating more and more kids sickened by edible marijuana.
USA TODAY reports that lawmakers in Colorado are just now getting around to barring businesses from selling edible products that resemble kids' candy.
Once again, Colorado is proving an example when it comes to marijuana laws--an example to beware.
Consider this yet another story to keep in mind, Mr. and Mrs. Arkansan, when somebody asks you to sign one of those petitions to legalize pot in this state. And then don't.
Editorial on 06/30/2014