US organisation Doctors for Cannabis Regulation (DCR) and other industry stakeholders, are urging the United States and global cannabis regulators to adopt the International Intoxicating Cannabinoid Product Symbol (IICPS).
In an open letter, DCR and stakeholders detail the importance of a standardised and universal cannabis product symbol in a bid to improve consumer safety and potentially facilitate interstate commerce in the future.
The IICPS symbol – developed with experts – consists of a cannabis leaf within a black-bordered yellow warning triangle, and is based upon existing consensus standards developed in an open environment.
Aswell as ensuring public safety, the symbols aims to promote best practices through collaboration by professionals from both the public and private sectors.
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The orgainsation has stated that: “This rationale played a major factor in the endorsement by DFCR and the other 21 stakeholders for the symbol to be adopted on a global scale.”
The symbol:
- Prevents accidental ingestion by adults and children.
- Facilitates recognition and promotes future interstate commerce.
The letter reads: “Despite the ubiquity of ISO 3864 safety signs, no state regulatory body utilised that international standard until Montana adopted the IICPS inlate2 021. Prior to this, individual U.S. states created their own bespoke and ironically named “universal” symbols.”
The organisations urge that any identifying symbol for cannabis products should be “harmonised across regional, state, and national borders, transcending language and culture.”
Following Montana’s adoption of the symbol, Alaska New Jersey and South Dakota have also adopted the warning sign.