In January, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd was then working on a story about the legalization of marijuana in Colorado, and was in Denver when she decided to eat a marijuana-infused treat. In her op-ed section about the issue, Dowd detailed her experience after eating the candy, which was a caramel-chocolate flavored she purchased legally. She also detailed how, after an hour of eating the candy and washing it down with some chardonnay, the effects of the candy were unsettling.
She wrote, "I strained to remember where I was or even what I was wearing, touching my green corduroy jeans and staring at the exposed-brick wall. As my paranoia deepened, I became convinced that I had died and no one was telling me."
According to Dowd, the "high" she received from the candy lasted eight hours.
Dowd argued that pot candy needs to be labeled better to inform newbies about how to eat the candy. A medical consultant of an edibles plant she interviewed had said that first-timers should only eat around 1/16 of the type of candy that she ate. Dowd claimed that the candy wrapper did not indicate such instruction.
Supporters of marijuana legalization has slammed her story, with one saying that Dowd was irresponsible, Boston.com said. In an email posted on a blog, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws spokesman Erik Altieri said, "Being inexperienced with cannabis consumption and having little to no experience with it in its edible form, Maureen Dowd should have done the responsible thing and researched the effects of ingested cannabis."
My 420 Tours co-founder Matt Brown, who reportedly accompanied Dowd in her candy purchase at a dispensary while in Denver, said that the journalist was informed that the effects of the edibles tend to vary in individuals.
Dowd responded to her critics in a statement, and said that any person who was coming to Denver would have been focused more on having fun with legal marijuana as opposed to being cautious about the risks involved.
