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\u201cDown the beer aisle, these craft beers deliver these cool and interesting designs. Colors are attractive to everyone, not just children.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent<\/strong><\/p>\n The labels and packaging for marijuana-related products, \u201cshall not be made to be attractive to children,\u201d the Missouri constitution states.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why state regulators are proposing requiring \u201cplain or uniform labeling,\u201d similar to those of cigarettes or medicines, said Amy Moore, director of Missouri\u2019s cannabis regulation under the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).<\/p>\n During a hearing Monday with the Joint\u00a0Committee\u00a0on Administrative Rules,\u00a0Moore said studies show that plain packaging \u201cincreases attention to and perceptions of harm and reducing social appeal\u201d among adolescents.<\/p>\n Yet, the rule is getting staunch opposition from the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association, which represents cannabis professionals, that say it would be \u201cunduly burdensome\u201d and not reasonable to require businesses to create new labels.<\/p>\n \u201cDown the beer aisle, these craft beers deliver these cool and interesting designs,\u201d said the association\u2019s attorney Eric Walter. \u201cColors are attractive to everyone, not just children.\u201d<\/p>\n The label change isn\u2019t a surprise to companies, Moore said, because DHSS has already told them there would be changes to labeling regulations once the constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana passed in November.<\/p>\n \u201cThink about the cereal aisle versus tobacco packaging or over-the-counter medicines,\u201d Moore said. \u201cI\u2019m skeptical of the association\u2019s skepticism\u2026about whether the concept of color for packaging being attractive to children is really at issue. We know it\u2019s true. I can tell you my five-year-old\u2019s favorite color right now is rainbow.\u201d<\/p>\n The label change is among several changes\u2014including video surveillance and increased accountability during events organized by cannabis companies\u2014in DHSS\u2019 126-page proposed rules<\/a>\u00a0that are currently under review.<\/p>\n Last week, the trade association sent a searing 46-page letter to committee members, saying some of the proposed rules would cause financial hardship on businesses and were \u201crecklessly conceived.\u201d<\/p>\n During Monday\u2019s hearing, lawmakers had Moore respond point by point to the association\u2019s concerns mentioned in the letter, which led to four hours of questions from both Democrats and Republicans, who were largely defending the association\u2019s position.<\/p>\n Walter was allowed a rebuttal to every argument Moore made.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re representing today, we\u2019ve got 14 provisions\u2026that we view as very problematic and very costly on the industry,\u201d Walter said in his opening statement. \u201cMore expensive products means a percentage of those people don\u2019t buy them from the regulated market. They go to the illicit market. Obviously, the goal would be to drive down our prices and have the people\u2026 buy them from the regulated market.\u201d<\/p>\n Also in his opening statement, Walter applauded DHSS, saying \u201cthey\u2019ve done a great job\u201d in regulating the industry.<\/p>\n \u201cThis tone today is very different from the tone of the letter that was sent to you all that we received on Friday,\u201d Moore said. \u201cWhile we have not always agreed in the past, and certainly have different interests, they have consistently described us as unusually accessible, responsive, competent and collaborative.\u201d<\/p>\n Moore said the association\u2019s letter was \u201cmisleading.\u201d<\/p>\n DHSS has made many concessions, she said, and tried to make as little financial impact to businesses as possible while still meeting constitutional requirements for health and public safety.<\/p>\n Among those requirements is video surveillance, she said.<\/p>\n Under the proposed rules, companies are required to have electronic video monitoring with high-definition cameras throughout the building that can be accessed remotely. Moore said video is specifically required under the constitution.<\/p>\n \u2014 After hearing the businesses\u2019 concerns, the agency decreased the number of cameras required, she said. But that meant they could no longer allow motion-sensored video systems.<\/p>\n Walter argued motion-sensored systems are more cost effective, but Moore said they are not as effective, especially if there were going to be fewer cameras and they are trying to ensure products aren\u2019t getting out into the illicit market.<\/p>\n \u201cThe question is whether it\u2019s unduly burdensome,\u201d Moore said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re weighing public safety, product safety, health and safety risks of these products.\u201d<\/p>\n In a separate issue, Moore gave an example of the owners of a cannabis company being in the midst of a heated dispute.<\/p>\n One owner locks out the others and removes equipment that the state has inspected and approved.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why DHSS included a sentence in its new regulations saying, \u201cthe department may restrict or suspend the operations of the facility license until the dispute is resolved, or it may deny a pending application.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, asked: \u201cI\u2019m struggling to see why you should be able to suspend simply because you\u2019re concerned about a dispute possibly impacting operations.\u201d<\/p>\n Moore responded that almost everything in the operation has a health and safety impact.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we find that ownership dispute is impairing that in some way that is not covered by a specific rule elsewhere,\u201d she said, \u201cwe need to be able to take action without jumping to suspension or revocation of a license.\u201d<\/p>\n Moore also said that she\u2019s seen other state\u2019s regulations and they are much more stringent than Missouri\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of what we\u2019re discussing today is the balance between having overly detailed or burdensome regulations,\u201d she said, \u201cbalancing that with the legitimate state interest of ensuring safety and security of facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Nick Schroer, an O\u2019Fallon Republican and chair of the committee, encouraged DHSS and the association to come to a compromise this week on the rules.<\/p>\n \u201cOur authority lapses on Friday,\u201d he said, \u201cso we\u2019re going to try to find a room Thursday, come back, discuss and vote if necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was first published by the Missouri Independent<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Florida Marijuana Campaign Collected Enough Signatures To Qualify Legalization Initiative For 2024 Ballot, Trulieve Says<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of WeedPornDaily<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Missouri Marijuana Industry Pushes Back Against Proposed Labeling And Video Surveillance Rules<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\u201cDown the beer aisle, these craft beers deliver these cool and interesting designs. Colors are attractive to everyone, not just children.\u201d By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent The labels and packaging for marijuana-related products, \u201cshall not be made to be attractive to children,\u201d the Missouri constitution states. That\u2019s why state regulatorsContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":64829,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64828"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64830,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64828\/revisions\/64830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Missouri Marijuana Industry Pushes Back Against Proposed Labeling And Video Surveillance Rules<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"