Health Director Considering Patient Education For Edible Medical Marijuana

Published: Monday, June 9, 2014 - 11:55am

Arizona Department of Health Services Director Will Humble is considering what medical marijuana patients need to be told about edible versions of the drug and when enough is enough. 

A judge’s ruling in March to allow extracts and not just pieces of marijuana plants to be used has opened the door to the sale of more marijuana-laced food products. 

Humble says that’s probably a healthier way to use the drug than smoking but it’s tougher to regulate the dosage.

“You have a bigger opportunity with edibles to overdose on the medical marijuana because you continue to eat either a brownie that was more potent than your realize, or more brownies than you probably should have," he said.

Humble wants to find new ways to enforce existing requirements that marijuana dispensary employees talk with patients about what they’re buying and its effects. 

Andrew Myers of the Arizona Dispensary Association says oversight also benefits medical marijuana supporters.

“The biggest risk of people having too much medication when it comes to cannabis is really that they're not going to use it again," Myers said.

And Myers says dispensary operators might even agree to undercover inspections of their shops to ensure patients are properly warned.