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80 Ohio St. L.J. 201 (2019)
High Standards: The Wave of Marijuana Legalization Sweeping America Ignores the Hidden Risks of Edibles

handle is hein.journals/ohslj80 and id is 213 raw text is: High Standards: The Wave of Marijuana Legalization Sweeping America Ignores the Hidden Risks of Edibles STEVE P. CALANDRILLO* AND KATELYN FULTON** As a tide of marijuana legalization sweeps across the United States, there is a surprising lack of scrutiny as to whether the benefits of recreational marijuana outweigh the risks. Notably, marjuana edibles present special risks to the population that are not present in smoked marijuana. States that have legalized recreational marijuana are seeing an increase in edible-related calls to poison control centers and visits to emergency rooms. These negative reactions are especially prevalent in vulnerable populations such as children, persons with underlying preexisting conditions, and out-of-state marijuana novices. Unfortunately, research on edible marijuana is scant and state regulatory regimes are not adequately accounting for the special risks that edibles pose. Edibles are metabolized differently than smoked marijuana, resulting in late-onset, longer-lasting, and unpredictable intoxication. Novices are particularly vulnerable because of inaccurate dosing and delayed highs. Children are also at risk because edibles are often packaged as chocolate and other forms of candy to which unsuspecting kids are attracted. To minimize these risks and maximize the social utility received from mariuana edibles, further study of their effects is required and potentially tighter regulations may be necessary. These measures will take time to accomplish, and in the interim state- implemented restrictions on marijuana edibles may be necessary to halt the increase of edible-related harms and hospitalizations. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 203 II. THE LAWS AND REGULATIONS THAT GOVERN MARIJUANA ........... 206 A. Brief Overview of Cannabis and Its History ............................ 206 B. The Rise ofAnti-Marijuana Laws in the United States ............ 207 * Jeffrey & Susan Brotman Professor of Law, University of Washington School of Law, stevecal@uw.edu. J.D., Harvard Law School, B.A. in Economics, U.C. Berkeley. ** University of Washington School of Law, B.A. in Biology, Washington State University. The Authors wish to thank Chryssa Deliganis, Anna Deliganis, Nick Calandrillo, Karen Boxx, Tres Gallant, and Lauren Sancken for inspiration and helpful comments on prior drafts. Our gratitude as well to the Jeffrey & Susan Brotman Professorship for its generous financial support.

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