NORTHAMPTON - As the new retail marijuana market draws closer to becoming a reality in Massachusetts, the Northampton Board of Health is considering placing restrictions on edibles.

Edibles--cookies, gummy bears, brownies or other sweets that can be cooked with marijuana extract--are a popular part of weed culture. In states where retail pot has already been legalized--like California, Oregon and Colorado--edibles represent a big part of the market.

However, board members think the product's potency should be limited out of concern for public safety--specifically the well being of children, who are at risk for accidentally eating products that look like sweets.

Board members discussed the issue at their meeting Thursday night.

Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the chemical compound in cannabis that is largely responsible for the euphoric feeling, or "high" that comes with ingesting the product.

According to the Cannabis Control Commission's regulations, a single serving of THC is considered to be 5 milligrams. CCC regulations allow for multi-serving products, which can have as many as 20 servings and contain as much as 100 milligrams THC.

However, Northampton health board members are considering limiting retail pot products sold in the city to a single serving--meaning the highest amount of THC an edible could have would be 5 milligrams.

"We want every edible to only have one serving in it," said Meredith O'Leary the city's director of public health Thursday.

The concern for board members is the danger of "unintentional ingestion," said O'Leary.

As part of the CCC's regulations, marijuana products must be labeled as such by retailers. However, once taken out of the packaging, these products would appear identical to normal sweets--which might be confusing to children, O'Leary said.

O'Leary said that in Colorado, where legalization of retail pot occurred in 2014, the dosing has led to a surge in accidental pot "overdoses" by children. "In Colorado, when they legalized marijuana, the incident rate of unintentional ingestion" skyrocketed for children, O'Leary said Thursday.

Indeed, Colorado faced a surge in a number of health maladies after legalization, including hospital visits for children after accidental ingestion. It responded by passing further regulations to stem the effects of the new market.

Board members discussed anecdotes about children being sickened by the drug Thursday, ruminating on the story of an 11-month-old in Colorado who died from a "marijuana overdose"--the first and only incident of its kind.

Another story--about a 19-year-old Colorado man who ate an extremely potent weed cookie, then jumped from a fourth floor hotel balcony and died--was also broached.

O'Leary said that the board will write the regulation, after which the public will be notified and a public hearing held where community members will have an opportunity to respond to the legislation.