In this June 19, 2014 photo, freshly packaged cannabis-infused peanut butter cookies are prepared for casing, inside Sweet Grass Kitchen, a well-established gourmet marijuana edibles bakery which sells its confections to retail outlets, in Denver. Sweet Grass Kitchen, like other cannabis food producers in the state, is held to rigorous health inspection standards, and has received praise from inspectors, according to owner Julie Berliner. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
June 20, 2014 - 9:02 AM
DENVER - The marijuana in those pot brownies isn't the only thing that can potentially make consumers sick. Regulators are now taking a closer look at how those pot-infused edibles are actually made.
The thriving edible marijuana industry in Colorado is preparing for new testing requirements to make sure the products are safe to eat and drink. The testing becomes mandatory in October.
Consuming too much of a pot-infused product has been connected to at least one death and a handful of hospital visits since retail recreational sales kicked off in January.
But health officials say there have been no reports of anyone getting a food-borne illness from edibles.
Still, activists, producers and officials agree that safety testing is long overdue.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014