Understanding the Colorado Cannabis Packaging Requirements

When states passed laws that allow medical or recreational use of cannabis, they also usually established very strict packaging rules and regulations. This article covers the State of Colorado’s guidelines for the manufacturers of products that contain cannabis in its state.

What are the packaging requirements for Cannabis in Colorado?

Package Labeling Requirements

When Colorado passed their law allowing medical marijuana use they came up with very strict rules controlling what the packaging must look like. All packaging must be of a certain type and look a certain way. It must contain specific product information and be presented in a very specific way.

All packaging must: 

●      Present all required product information

●      Not contain any false claims or misleading statements of health benefits

●      The font size of all text cannot be smaller than 1/6th of an inch

●      All text must be written in English

●      All text must be in full, unobstructed view

Packaging container requirements:

Packaging is very important when it comes to products containing marijuana and the guidelines are very strict. To ensure the safety of the public all manufacturers that are looking to make and sell products that contain marijuana need to adhere to all of the requirements established by the State of Colorado.

All containers used to hold marijuana-infused products must:

●      Packaging must be child-resistant

●      Child resistance must persist if it is recloseable

●      For non-edible marijuana, products have to be individually packaged

●      Contains a label that adheres to all labeling requirements

The container used must also contain all of the required information that is included in the required guidelines. All the guidelines were established in order to provide public safety.

Required container information

General Product Information

In order to be compliant with all of the regulations and guidelines established for sales of marijuana products, all containers must have all of the following general product information visible on the outside of the container.

●      The license number of where the marijuana was grown that is contained in the product inside the container

●      The unique batch number assigned to the marijuana that was used in the product

●      Specific product net weight

●      The products batch number assigned by the manufacturer

●      Child-resistant statement

●      The Identity Statement and Symbol of the licensee

●      The front of the container must also show the Univeral Symbol

●      The front of the container must contain the following statement below the Univeral Symbol “Contains Marijuana, For Medical Use Only. Keep out of reach of children”

Health and Safety Warnings

 While marijuana is an all-natural, plant-based ingredient it does contain a compound that does come with some risks. Due to this fact, the State of Colorado determined that it needs to protect potential users of any product containing marijuana and the compound THC. To accomplish this, the guidelines covering the sales of products containing marijuana or those that are infused with marijuana must contain the following health and safety warnings.

Health and Safety Warnings on All Packaging Containing Marijuana

All packaging must contain:

●      The statement “There may be health risks associated with the consumption of this product.”

●      This product contains marijuana and it contains a specific amount of marijuana that is within the legal limit plus or minus 15%, which is allowed by Colorado statute

●      It must also contain a warning stating that the consumption of this product by a pregnant or breastfeeding woman could pose a potential hazard. Also if a woman is considering becoming pregnant, there is also a serious risk.

●      A full listing of all non-organic pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides must be clearly visible on the outside of the packaging

Potency content - THC and CBDs

The Cannabis Sativa Marijuana plant contains some 130+ cannabinoid compounds. These include THC and CBD, among many others. So, to ensure the consumer is protected, the guidelines created by the State of Colorado require that manufacturers list them. To accomplish this, all packaging must include a complete list of all the cannabinoids and their potency.

To ensure that the consumer is able to read the information, the guideline is very specific about how large the font (print size) must be and that it must be larger in comparison to all other text around it on the packaging. The text must also be contained within a circle or square in order for it to stand out.

All marijuana-infused edible products also contain additional information

Edible products that contain marijuana also include a number of other ingredients. In order to protect the consumer's safety, each ingredient must be individually listed. This is designed to expose any potential allergens which may help to limit any possible life-threatening allergic reaction.

It also must be a statement that is clearly visible that if the product is perishable, it must state that it has to be refrigerated. This is designed to help protect the potency and efficacy of the products that it contains. Along with that, it also must have a clearly visible date that it was produced.

An Expiration Date or Use-by Date must also appear in easy-to-read font size. This date represents the period of time that an edible product that contains or is infused with marijuana is fit for human consumption. No licensee can place a new label with a new date designed to extend the period at which the product can or should be consumed.

Additional information that is permissible under the guidelines

Along with all of the aforementioned requirements, the guideline from the State of Colorado also allows manufacturers of products containing or infused with marijuana to place additional text that is designed to further educate the consumer about the product contained in the package.

This text may include any of the following permissible information.

●      If the product is compatible with certain dietary restrictions

●      A panel containing nutritional values that are found in the product

●      A statement of whether or not the product passed a required contaminant test

●      If the product did go through any required contaminant testing, it must state whether it passed the test or not

●      If the package contains multiple individual packages that contain marijuana products, that number should appear on the outside of the larger packaging