After months of back and forth with cannabis-infused products makers and MJ trade associations, the Washington state Liquor and Cannabis Board approved new packaging, labeling and product design regulations for edibles.
The rules:
- Designate approved colors and shapes for edible products.
- Specify approved font, background and accent colors for edible packaging and labeling.
- Provide guidelines for company logos, product photos and clear windows on edible packaging.
This is the board’s latest attempt to eliminate edibles products or packaging that could appeal to children.
Then – after fierce industry opposition – the board reversed course and allowed manufacturers to continue producing those products until regulators could hear input from an industry coalition.
The process of developing the new packaging, labeling and product design rules was done “in consultation and vetted with the major industry groups,” board spokesman Brian Smith wrote in an email to Marijuana Business Daily.
The board’s staff is recommending that infused product makers have until Jan. 1, 2020, to become compliant with the new rules, Smith said.
If the recommendation is approved by the board, retailers would have until that date to sell out of existing product, he noted.
The board is expected to hear that request at a Jan. 9, 2019, meeting.
The state is in the process of updating its website with packaging and labeling resources and is hosting a webinar Dec. 18 for infused product manufacturers to learn more about the new rules.
