New York Times Reporter Experiences Colorado Marijuana Edibles

The New York Times has just run a report from one of their writers who traveled to Colorado to report on the new marijuana industry. Figuring that she should try a taste of the product she was reporting on, she nibbled off the end of a candy bar infused with cannabis – a candy bar that resembled one she’d liked as a child.

That experiment didn’t go so well. Her account included this comment: “But then I felt a scary shudder go through my body and brain. I barely made it from the desk to the bed, where I lay curled up in a hallucinatory state for the next eight hours.”

The correct dosage for a cannabis-initiate like her would have been 1/16th of a candy bar, she found out the next day. She doesn’t state exactly how much she ate. She does say that the dosage instructions were not marked on the wrapper of the candy bar she ate.

She’s not the only person who has run into problems with potent edibles. There have been two news stories recently of deaths related to overdoses from edible cannabis. And the number of children accidentally eating cannabis and needing to be rushed to the hospital in 2014 is in on pace to double from the number last year (before recreational cannabis was legalized in Colorado). The children manifested either extreme sedation or agitation. When edibles are formed and packaged exactly like gummy bears, candy bars, and hard candies, it’s easy to see how children could accidentally overdose.

I believe the rest of the country is watching Colorado to see what problems emerge from this experiment with legalized marijuana. And so far, I don’t believe the country is getting a very good impression of their results.

The reporter’s story can be read here: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/opinion/dowd-dont-harsh-our-mellow-dude.html