How to Stay Compliant with Washington State’s Child-Resistant Marijuana Packaging Rules
Technically, Washington was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana use, as Colorado’s legalization law took a few months to go into effect. Along with the new legal status came a series of rules and regulations about how any and all marijuana products must be packaged and labeled. A main component of these packaging rules is noting that certain cannabis products must be contained in Child Resistant Packaging.
Generally, Washington’s rules follow those established for “special packaging” in the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 (16 C.F.R. §1700.1(b)(4)):
Special packaging means packaging that is designed or constructed to be significantly difficult for children under 5 years of age to open or obtain a toxic or harmful amount of the substance contained therein within a reasonable time and not difficult for normal adults to use properly, but does not mean packaging which all such children cannot open or obtain a toxic or harmful amount within a reasonable time.
The exact definition given in the Washington law borrows some of that language, noting that Child Resistant Packaging is specifically defined as "packaging that is designed or constructed to be significantly difficult for children under five years of age to open, and not difficult for adults to use properly."
Different types of products require different levels of child resistance, as follows:
- Multi-serving edibles (solid & liquid), tinctures, capsules, and concentrates are required to be re-sealable and must maintain their child-resistance throughout the product life.
- Single-serving edibles (solid & liquid), tinctures, capsules, and concentrates are only required to be sealed in single-use child-resistant packaging.
- Marijuana flower, topicals, extracts, patches, immature plants, and seeds are not required to be sealed in child-resistant packaging.
Generally, all marijuana products must be labeled with the business name and unified business identifier (or UBI) code, a lot number for the product, net weight / quantity of the product, THC/THCA/CBD/CBDA concentration in milligrams, health and safety risks, and any relevant information about pesticides or solvents used in the cultivation and manufacture.
There are additional restrictions in place to make sure that marijuana products are not labeled in a way that could potentially appeal to children. Cartoons (including any depiction of animals or marijuana products with human-like features), cartoonish fonts, or any brand-logo lookalikes are also strictly prohibited.
All edibles (solid & liquid) are also required to use these specific quotes on the label:
-
"Warning – May be habit forming;"
- "Unlawful outside Washington State;"
- "It is illegal to operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana;"
- "Caution: Intoxicating effects may be delayed by 2+ hours.
- "The Not for Kids and Marijuana Universal symbol
Usable flower and concentrates must be labeled with similar language:
- "Warning – May be habit forming;"
- "Unlawful outside Washington State;"
- "It is illegal to operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana;"
- "Smoking is hazardous to your health."
- The Not for Kids and Marijuana Universal symbol
These symbols, as well as a handy guide which includes example images of both labels and packaging, are available for free at the Washington State Cannabis Packaging and Labeling Resources Guide.
All labeling designs must be submitted to the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board at labelappoval@lcb.wa.gov for approval.
If your dispensary or other manufacturing facility is in need of custom-printed packaging for your products, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team here at CannaSundries.
DISCLAIMER: The contents of the CannaSundries website regulatory pages are intended to convey general information. The information here should not be relied upon for legal advice on state marijuana laws. We provide links to state cannabis regulatory sites; we do not vouch for or assume any responsibility for the content, accuracy or completeness of material presented in linked sites. The information presented on these pages may not reflect the most current legal developments in the marijuana industry. We disclaim all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all of the contents of this site to the fullest extent permitted by law.