Urge Governor Newsom to Sign into Law The Cannabis Candy Child Safety Act (AB 1207)

Since the passage of Prop 64, the cannabis industry has ignored the initiative's provisions stating that marijuana products shall NOT be "designed to be appealing to children or easily confused with commercially sold candy or foods that do not contain marijuana."

California needs a more clear and enforceable policy to put a halt to the cannabis industry practice of designing, packaging, promoting and selling products specifically designed to attract youth users. AB 1207 is long overdue. 

The negative consequences have been significant:

• Annual cannabis exposures reported to California Poison Control increased from below 200 in 2010 to over 1600 by 2020; 50% involved children, half below age 12; ingestion of gummies, candies, chocolate and drinks increased significantly. In contrast, there were only 16 total reported gummy exposures between 2010 and 2015 vs. 409 in 2020 alone.
• At Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, children under age 10 testing positive for THC (the intoxicating active ingredient in cannabis) quadrupled since 2016, mostly from edibles, of which three quarters were from candies or gummies. Half led to hospitalization and one in ten to intensive care.
• Nationally, edible cannabis poisonings of children six and under increased 1,375% between 2017 and 2021, growing in severity. Many resulted in intensive care or mechanical ventilation, and even though uncommon, in death.
• Multiple CA school districts experienced incidents of cannabis poisoned children, often in groups, requiring evacuation by ambulance, typically after ingesting products marketed to resemble candies or chips. Schools are also seeing widespread vaping of high THC cannabis products marketed as flavored.

Additionally, there has been a proliferation of products known to attract youth initiation and use, such as fruit-flavored vaping products and “pre-rolls.” The saga of flavored Juul products is familiar and the FDA is now restricting these products. California legislators acted wisely to prohibit these flavored products for tobacco, and that decision was supported by the vast majority of voters in the referendum on Proposition 31. Juul settled with six states for $462 million, highlighting the immense health costs of addicting youth to harmful products. While a consistent approach should be adopted for cannabis products to protect youth, AB 1207, unfortunately, was weakened in the Assembly Committee and its prohibitions against flavored cannabis vapes and inhaled products are no longer in the bill.  We will try once again to prohibit flavored vaping proucts in a future legislative session.

While cannabis does have certain medicinal uses, it also has a series of well recognized harms to health, especially when use begins early. According to the National Academies of Science, cannabis use is associated with increased motor vehicle accidents, increased psychosis and schizophrenia, and problem use (cannabis use disorder) especially when begun young or used frequently. NIH research shows increased suicidal ideation and attempts. 

With the intensive marketing and promotion in the wake of legalization, public awareness of these harms has fallen dramatically, and rates of use have risen in key groups who may be particularly vulnerable to harms, including youth and  pregnant women. Action is urgently needed.

There are significant financial consequences to the State of California and to families. Roughly half of California children are covered by MediCal insurance so health expenditures for poisonings, substance abuse treatment, emergency room visits, car accidents, and associated mental health treatments come out of public funding. Use by kids can also lead to significant expenditures by the educational system, as well as law enforcement.

Child exposure to and consumption of cannabis is neither necessary nor an acceptable by-product of a legal cannabis market. Our children, youth, parents and schools cannot afford the continued proliferation of cannabis products attractive to children. The Cannabis Candy Child Safety Act will honor the promise and intent of Prop 64 to keep children safe by more clearly defining and prohibiting products with packaging and marketing that is attractive to children or teens.

A robust legal cannabis market can flourish without products that are clearly attractive to children. We respectfully request that Governor Newson exercise his responsibility to protect children and youth and save public funds. Please urge the governor to sign this bill into law.