Colorado, Washington deal with marijuana health, safety standards

OLYMPIA, Wash., April 26 (UPI) -- State officials in Colorado and Washington say they are struggling to prepare health and safety guidelines for recently legalized recreational marijuana.

Marijuana, like other agricultural commodities, is subject to mold, mites and pesticide residue in raw form, and salmonella and other safety risks in prepared form, NBC News reported Friday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will not offer advice because marijuana remains illegal under federal law, requiring state officials to set up a framework for policing an entirely new industry, NBC said.

"It's important for us to do this, because it's public safety and there's no U.S. FDA oversight," said Randy Simmons, the Washington State Liquor Control Board's project manager in charge of implementing Initiative 502, the referendum that legalized marijuana in the state. "Things that would be FDA rules don't exist."

Producers of "meldibles," marijuana-infused foods and drinks, are already making their own guidelines, NBC said.

Tripp Keber of Denver's Dixie Elixirs and Edibles says his line of pot-laced mints, candies and sodas already adhere to federal quality standards.

"Anyone can make a pot brownie, but fewer can make a dozen. Even fewer can make 5,000 with the same consistency," he said.