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U.S. NEWSFriday 19 February 2016
American Living: Iowan researches
to pay students to
Colorado debates organic labels for marijuana eat GMO bananas
KRISTEN WYATT pesticides would be off-lim- the Cannabis Consumers even mention organic cer- DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)
Associated Press its for organic growers. Coalition. “We don’t want tification is California, which
DENVER (AP) — Marijuana Consumer confusion over to wait for someone to get last year adopted a regula- — Iowa State University
has attracted many labels organic marijuana peaked sick. You need to know that tion requiring organic certi-
in its time. On Friday, Colo- in Colorado earlier this when something says or- fication for marijuana prod- researchers are moving
rado lawmakers debate year, when Denver health ganic, it’s organic.” ucts by 2020, if permitted
whether the state should authorities seized thou- Colorado is likely just the under federal law. ahead with a long-de-
give the drug one more of-
ten associated with purple layed project in which a
carrots than purple haze —
certified organic. dozen students will be paid
Colorado starts work Friday
on becoming the first state to eat genetically modified
to regulate organic labels
in its pot industry, with other bananas.
legal weed states watch-
ing to see whether they too The Des Moines Register
should step in to help con-
sumers wondering what’s reports that the bananas
on their weed. Organic
standards are regulated were developed by sci-
federally, and pot remains
illegal at the federal level, entists at Queensland
meaning there’s nothing
stopping commercial pot University of Technology
growers from calling their
wares organic. in Australia and have a
“Consumers have a right to
know what they’re putting gene that’s supposed to
in their body,” said Colo-
rado Rep. Jonathan Singer, help people living in Africa
a Democrat sponsoring
the bill to create the state- make vitamin A.
sanctioned labels. The bill
has its first hearing Friday “In Uganda and other Af-
in the state House Public
Health Care and Human rican countries, vitamin
Services Committee. The
measure doesn’t specify A deficiency is a major
what growers would have
to do to get the certifica- contributor to deaths in
tion, it instead directs the
state’s agricultural depart- childhood from infectious
ment to get a third party
to draft the regulations. The diseases,” Wendy White,
bill also doesn’t say which
a food-science professor
who is leading the univer-
sity’s trial, wrote in a state-
ment released by the uni-
versity in 2014. “Wouldn’t it
be great if these bananas
could prevent preschool
Employees trim away leaves from marijuana plants to be packaged and sold at a dispensary in kids from dying from diar-
Denver. Marijuana shops are full of products claiming to be organic, but those labels mean little
because organic standards are regulated federally, meaning there’s nobody checking those rhea, malaria or measles?”
claims. That could be changing. Colorado lawmakers start work Friday, Feb. 19, 2016 on becom-
ing the first state to verify organic labels in the pot industry. White sent an email to
(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) students in the summer of
2014 seeking 12 female
volunteers to eat an equiv-
sands of marijuana plants first state to tighten the rules So far federal authori- alent of three bananas
from growers suspected of for advertising marijuana ties that have weighed
using off-limits chemicals products as organic, said in on state marijuana ex- each, one of which would
on their plants. Chris Lindsey, legislative an- periments haven’t men-
Most of the plants were ulti- alyst for the pro-legalization tioned accurate labeling be the genetically modi-
mately released, but some Marijuana Policy Project. standards, though a 2013
were sold with names that “This is not exactly a move- memo from the Depart- fied type. The participants
suggested the products ment, but it’s not too much ment of Justice warned
were natural or organic. of a stretch to say we’re states that federal authori- would eat a diet, including
“That misleads people,” headed that way,” he said. ties want “strong and ef-
said Larisa Bolivar, head of The only other pot state to fective” regulations.q the bananas, for four days
during each of three study
periods, then have their
blood tested. They would
be paid $900 each.
The trial has been criticized
because natural-food
proponents say geneti-
Oregon weighs landmark minimum wage proposal cally modified foods can
be dangerous. The experi-
KRISTENA HANSEN ing taking up the issue this over six years: Oregon’s cur- States have taken vari- ment’s proponents say the
Associated Press year, either through legisla- rent $9.25 an hour minimum ous approaches to raising
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon tive action or ballot initia- - already one of the highest their own minimum wages. gene came from a differ-
is trailblazing a national de- tive, as issues of wage in- in the nation - would jump Some target government
bate with a proposal that equality and middle-class to $14.75 in metro Portland, employees or certain in- ent type of banana and is
would not only make the incomes have climbed to $13.50 in smaller cities such dustries, as seen recently
state’s minimum wage for the forefront of presidential as Salem and Eugene, and in New York for fast-food completely safe to eat.
all workers the highest in campaigns by Democratic $12.50 in rural communities workers, while some states
the U.S., but would do so candidates Bernie Sanders by 2022. allow local jurisdictions to Earlier this week, activists
through a unique tiered sys- and Hilary Clinton. Those minimums would set their own rates above
tem based on geography. Oregon is weighing a new dethrone Massachusetts - the state threshold, which delivered petitions call-
As the federal minimum approach. State lawmak- where the statewide rate prompted recent hikes in
wage has sat unchanged ers are set to vote Thurs- will climb to $11 an hour cities such as Seattle and ing on the project’s halt
since the start of the Great day on an unprecedented next year - from the top Los Angeles.
Recession, more than a three-tiered system that spot, according to D.C.- Oregon is unique because to university officials and
dozen states have raised sets different rates by re- based Economic Policy it would be the first state
the rate within their borders gion. Institute, which has been without a one-size-fits-all the Bill and Melinda Gates
in recent years. Another The proposal would start a tracking wage increases statewide minimum for all
dozen or so are consider- series of gradual increases across the nation. workers. q Foundation, which is fund-
ing the project. The activ-
ists said more than 57,000
people signed the petition.
“ISU students are being
asked to be the first to
consume a product of
unknown safety,” the ac-
tivists said in a prepared
statement.q
