The City of Boulder, CO, is considering more lenient promotion and marketing of marijuana products.

The changes to city marijuana regulations, to be formally proposed at the public City Council hearing on Tuesday (March 20), include allowing cannabis businesses to give out certain promotional products. Companies have been prohibited from doing so since recreational pot became legal in the state in January 2014 as part of an effort to avoid appealing to children.

“It’s very challenging to find a balance of interests here,” city staff members said in a memo to the Council. “For businesses, marketing and branding are recognized ways to increase revenue. For those concerned about the effect of marijuana on youth, there is a desire not to repeat the mistakes related to [tobacco] smoking.”

Pot companies would be allowed to give away promotional products that have a secondary use, such as pens and lighters. Stickers, for example, would not be allowed, since they have no secondary use, according to the panel’s proposal. However, it would still be illegal for companies to give away marijuana as a free sample or at a price significantly below market value, also known as “penny joints.”

Other proposed changes include allowing pot businesses to publicly post their hours of operation and permitting companies to package product with machines instead of solely by hand.

In total, there are 19 rule changes that will be presented at the meeting, down from about 36. All are supported by city staff and were developed by the advisory panel. Created in January 2016 by the city manager, the 11-member panel reviews the city’s regulations regarding marijuana and makes periodic recommendations.

The use of promotional products to advertise legalized cannabis has been a contentious issue of late. In September, the California Assembly’s Appropriations Committee placed on hold SB162, a proposed bill that would have prohibited sellers and manufacturers of marijuana in that state from advertising cannabis or cannabis products through the use of imprinted items.

In November, the Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Branding, which represents almost 90% of Canada’s current legal medical pot market, partnered with the Canadian Medical Cannabis Council and Cannabis Canada Association to release a series of recommendations for the marketing and advertising of cannabis. Full-scale legalization in Canada is slated for July 2018.