Cannabis Packaging and the new Colorado legislation that will effect it. | Valdamark Direct

Colorado is a pioneer in the United States when it comes to legalising cannabis.

They have strict rules about how cannabis and its related products should be packaged. The goal is to make sure these items are sold safely and to prevent accidents, especially involving kids.

Cannabis companies in Colorado must follow these rules to stay on the right side of the law and keep their customers confident in the quality and safety of their products.

Medical Cannabis
In Colorado, they legalised medical cannabis back in 2000. It happened when they approved something called Amendment 20 to the Colorado Constitution. This change allowed people with certain medical conditions to use cannabis for medical reasons, but only if a licensed doctor recommended it.

It also lets people grow up to six cannabis plants, with three of them being in the mature stage, and have up to two ounces of usable cannabis. Later on, in 2012, Colorado expanded the rules to let adults aged 21 and older use cannabis for fun.

Recreational Cannabis
In 2012, the people of Colorado voted for Amendment 64, which allowed adults aged 21 and over to use and have recreational cannabis. It also allowed growing up to six cannabis plants, with three in the mature stage, and having up to one ounce of cannabis for personal use. In 2014, Colorado became the first U.S. state to allow the sale of recreational cannabis to adults by setting up rules for stores selling it.

Packaging Rules
Colorado has strict rules about how cannabis and related products should be packaged to make sure they are safe and to stop accidents, especially with kids. Some important rules are:

1. Child-safe packaging. All cannabis and cannabis products should be in packaging that's hard for kids under five to open.
2. Tamper-proof packaging. The packaging should show if someone tried to open or change it.
3. Labels.Packages need to have specific information, like what the product is, how strong it is, how much to use, warnings, how to use it, what's in it when it was made when it expires, and a unique number.
4. Branding. The packaging needs to have the product's name and the company that made it.
5. No see-through packaging. The packaging should not be clear so that you can't see what's inside from the outside.
6. Exit packaging. When you buy cannabis products at a store, they should be put in special packaging that's not see-through, hard for kids to open, and shows if it's been tampered with. Colorado makes sure these rules are followed to keep cannabis and its related products safe and properly sold.

Changes to Packaging Rules

Colorado has updated its rules about cannabis packaging since it was legalised. Some changes include:

1. THC Symbol. Starting in 2020, all cannabis products in Colorado had to have a symbol with "THC" inside a diamond shape, printed in red on a white background.
2. Single-Serving Packaging. Since 2019, all edible cannabis products had to be in small, single servings of no more than 10 milligrams of THC, and each serving had to be wrapped or marked individually.
3. Labels. In 2018, Colorado made the labels even more detailed, asking for extra information like when it was harvested, the kind of strain it is, the type of concentrate, and how it was made.
4. Exit Packaging. From 2020, the packaging you get when you leave a store needs to be easy for adults to use but hard for kids to open.
5. Changing Medical to Recreational. Starting in 2023, places that grow medical cannabis can sell it for recreational use.

All these changes are meant to make things safer and lower the risk of accidents, especially for children. Businesses in Colorado have to follow these rules to make sure they sell their products safely and responsibly.
Newest Changes

In December 2022, the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division made new rules that say all cannabis products must have labels showing when they should be used and the right way to store them. While edibles and other things you eat already need labels like this, now it also applies to products you inhale, like flowers and pre-rolls.

These new rules start on January 1, 2024. After that date, stores with a license can still sell products that have passed the use-by date, but they have to tell the customer if they are buying an expired product.

We'll see how these rules affect the sales of cannabis flowers and similar items in the future. In the meantime, you can check out S10 Labs for packaging that always follows Colorado's specific rules.