Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 30, 2016)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, MAY 30, 2016 Oficials urge novices start slow with pot-infused edibles Marijuana edibles become legal in Oregon Thursday ‘For someone who doesn’t smoke and is not used to ingesting marijuana, I advise eating 5 milligrams or even half of that just to see how it hits you.’ By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — Oregon health oficials are urging novice marijuana users to start slow when pot-infused edibles are introduced in the state’s legal recreational market Thursday. Since October, anyone 21 and older may purchase a lim- ited amount of cannabis low- ers, seeds and starter plants. The Legislature earlier this year added edibles, extracts and nonpsychoactive lotions, balms and oils to that list. “We are concerned about folks who are novice users,” said Jonathan Modie, spokes- man for the Oregon Health Authority. “We are concerned about calls into the poison center, not just children but adults.” Health authorities adopted temporary rules last month on the sale of the new products. The rules take effect Thursday and expire Dec. 31, when the Oregon Liquor Control Com- mission is scheduled to take over regulation of the recre- ational marijuana program. Restricted sales Temporary rules restrict sales to one edible product and one extract per day to each customer. An edible prod- uct may contain no more than 15 milligrams of tetrahydro- cannabinol, or THC, the psy- choactive chemical in pot. Leah D’Ambrosio owner of Sconed in Portland Extracts are limited to 1,000 milligrams. Customers may buy an unlimited number of topical products. The 15-milligram limit on edibles might be too potent for some people, health oficials said. “What we are telling the industry is they should divide it up into 5-milligram serv- ings,” said Andre Ourso, man- ager of the state’s medical marijuana program. “At that point, we would recommend that they label it and say that it contains three servings.” Proposed permanent rules, effective in January, limit serving sizes to 5 mil- ligrams of THC. Up to 10 servings will be allowed in each package. The proposed rules also impose stricter specifications for child-re- sistant packaging. “Part of the reason we chose the 15-milligram limit for the temporary rules is that labs can’t test for that low of a concentration without it being very expensive and can’t even give a good coni- dence level that, that is what it actually contains,” Ourso said, referring to the 5-milligram amount. “In proposed perma- nent rules, the labs will test the 50 milligrams in the package but won’t be required to test each serving size.” Start out slow When eating the drug, it can take one to four hours to feel effects, he said. “If you aren’t feeling the effects after an hour, wait a couple of more hours, before consuming more,” Ourso said. “We would caution people to start out slow.” The Oregon Responsible Edibles Council has launched a public education campaign designed to guide new users through eating marijuana-in- fused foods for the irst time. The group’s Try Five Cam- paign advises consumers to eat no more than 5 milli- grams of THC for their irst experience. “Fifteen milligrams is dei- nitely going to be too much for people who are unfamiliar with edibles, so we were really glad we were able to launch the campaign before edibles became available,” said David McNicoll, council founder and owner of Dave’s Space Cakes in Eugene. The council has a website and has been distribut- ing posters to put up in dispen- saries and T-shirts for so-called “bud tenders” to wear when they’re selling products. “Everyone in the edibles industry should be behind this campaign because when there is overconsumption of edibles and people have bad effects it taints the industry as a whole,” said Leah D’Ambrosio, edi- bles council member and owner of Sconed in Portland. D’Ambrosio said even for some regular marijuana users, eating 15 milligrams of pot can be too much. “For someone who doesn’t smoke and is not used to ingesting marijuana, I advise eating 5 milligrams or even half of that just to see how it hits you,” she said. Decals on packages The processor, who makes pot-infused toffee and is plan- ning on soon debuting scones — her company’s namesake — also produces edible decals. The decals are marked with a green cross and can be attached or baked onto marijuana-in- fused foods. The health author- ity already requires processors to add a symbol to packages showing that food contains marijuana, but the edible decal is meant to alert consumers that a food item contains mar- ijuana, even after the prod- uct has been removed from its package, D’Ambrosio said. All of the Sconed sweets carry the symbol, and D’Ambrosio also is starting to market the decals to other processors. “It’s just another safeguard after the product is out of the package,” she said. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Study inds more acidic ocean harms crab Researchers say indings likely to apply to outer coast By MATT WINTERS EO Media Group ILWACO, Wash. — A new study suggests Dungeness crab on Washington state’s outer coast may be harmed by ongo- ing changes in ocean chem- istry in the same ways young oysters are impacted. Carbon dioxide is increas- ing in the atmosphere from the combustion of fossil fuels. When some of this CO2 is absorbed by the ocean, seawa- ter shifts slightly toward being more acidic. This in turn may slow development and reduce survival of the larval stages of Dungeness crab, NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisher- ies Science Center in Seattle discovered in recent research. Previous research has focused on harm caused to young oys- ters by acidiication. Dungeness crab are a key component of the Northwest marine ecosystem and gen- erate $84 million annually in Washington state. They are particularly important to the economy in Paciic County, home to the state’s most pro- ductive crabbing grounds. The crab ishery also generates annual income of $48 million in Oregon and nearly $67 mil- lion in California. “I have great faith in the resiliency of nature, but I am concerned,” said Jason Miller, lead author of the research, which was part of his disser- tation. “Crab larvae in our research were three times more likely to die when exposed to a pH that can already be found in Puget Sound, our own back- yard, today.” Study results apply to coast While the speciic research concerned Puget Sound crab, Miller said in an email that “there aren’t, to the best of my understanding, any signiicant genetic differences between outer coast and Puget Sound dungies. (Last I heard, there is work being done on this ques- tion, though).” Miller and Paul McElhany, a NOAA Fisheries research scientist and senior author of the paper, both said more research and monitoring is needed on the outer coast to determine how changing acid- ity levels — known by the sci- entiic abbreviation pH — might impact crab. “Regardless of where they are hatched, when larvae are exposed to low pH, their bod- ies are being forced to cope with it,” Miller said. “The results of our research translate to the outer coast. Only time will tell how hard the Dunge- ness are hit and if, hopefully, they can acclimate in num- bers great enough to maintain their population and in turn the isheries.” Average ocean surface pH is expected to drop to about 7.8 off the West Coast by 2050, and could drop further during coastal upwelling periods. “The Columbia River plume itself has an effect on pH (tending to make it lower), but ... not exactly sure how that effects things. We have a pro- W A NTED at more than $4,000. Most of the materials have been recovered and returned to the A Seaside man was various owners. sentenced to ive years in Police found a cellphone prison Friday with the stolen for stealing a items that con- trailer and ill- tained the sexu- ing it with sto- ally explicit mate- len construc- rial. The same tion equipment images were found while possess- on another cell- ing two cell- phone that Brelin phones illed was carrying with with multiple him, according to images of child police. pornography. Brelin collected Frank Benjamin Frank Ben- the illegal images Brelin jamin Brelin between January II, 48, was sen- and October 2015, tenced in Clatsop County according to the indictment. Circuit Court after plead- As part of his sentence, ing no contest to four Brelin is required to register counts of irst-degree as a sex offender. encouraging child sex abuse and pleading guilty to two counts of irst-de- gree theft. Seaside Police arrested Brelin in December. He stole a utility trailer in October and went to dif- ferent homes and job sites to steal ladders, scaffold- ing and other construction equipment. The stolen trailer and equipment was valued By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian Little Jimmy Parker Selling Your Home? MARCH 2, 1962 — MAY 23, 2009 Local young couple looking to buy a house with acreage in the Lewis and Clark , Youngs River or Olney area. You are forever in our hearts. Thank you for all the memories. Please call 503-791-3066 OSAA 4A GIRLS TRACK & FIELD STATE N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A Preparedness Forum Tuesday Liberty Theater st May 31 1203 Commercial Street At the Astoria, Oregon Presentations from Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. 6 pm - 8:30 pm Speakers Include: Scientists collected eggs from Dungeness crabs in Puget Sound and placed them in tanks at the Mont- lake Research Laboratory. The tanks held seawater with a range of pH levels relect- ing current conditions as well as the lower pH occasionally encountered in Puget Sound when deep water wells up near the surface. Larvae also went into tanks with the even low- er-pH conditions expected with ocean acidiication. Seaside man gets ive years for theft, child porn Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Presented by the City of Astoria to Findings in Puget Sound sex abuse charges. In late February, Moses Lake Police Department The Clatsop County arrested Eide and extradited District Attorney’s Ofice him to Clatsop County. added a slew of sex abuse The Clatsop County Sher- charges against the Moses iff’s Ofice said Eide was Lake, Washington, man known to the teenage girl arrested in Febru- as a family friend. ary for online sex Eide allegedly used abuse of a local a social network- teenage girl. ing site to help nur- Brandon Wayne ture a yearlong Albert Eide, 21, relationship with pleaded not guilty the teenager start- in Clatsop County ing in December Circuit Court 2014, and met with Thursday to 33 sex the girl — who was abuse charges. The 14 when the abuse charges include Brandon Wayne began — at her Albert Eide third-degree home and at public rape, third-de- locations in Wash- gree sodomy, luring a minor, ington state. irst-degree online sexual The Sheriff’s Ofice corruption of a child and conducted the investiga- irst-degree encouraging tion with the FBI in Port- child sex abuse. The alleged land. Federal charges have crimes occurred between also been iled against Eide January 2015 and February. since the alleged crimes Eide was originally crossed state lines. indicted on 16 charges Eide is due back in Cir- related to online sex abuse, cuit Court next month for but after further investiga- an early resolution confer- tion, the District Attorney’s ence. He remains in custody Ofice added the physical on $250,000 bail. By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Community Emergency • • Dr. Althea Rizzo , Geologic Hazards Program Manager | Oregon Emergency Management Tyree Wilde , Warning Coordination Meteorologist | National Oceanic & Atmospheric • Patrick Corcoran , Coastal Natural Hazards Specialist | Oregon State University, Oregon Sea • posal to test crabs from dif- ferent regions to see if there is a different response, but we have not yet started those experiments,” McElhany said. Charges added against man accused of sexually abusing teenage girl Administration Grant Neal Bond , Protection Unity Forester | Oregon Department of Forestry A question and answer period will immediately follow each presentation. A final question and answer period will be available at the conclusion of the evening. Tables with handouts, printed materials and examples of emergency preparedness tools and kits will be available in the Lobby. City and County Emergency Management and Response personnel will be available to answer questions and provide information. Congratulate the Astoria High School Lady Fishermen winners of the OSAA 4A Track Championship Your 3-line message to the Lady Fishermen championship team and you business name 45 $ Deadline: May 31 Runs: June 1 in The Daily Astorian Contact Holly at 503-325-3211