A coalition of Republican senators have reintroduced a bill that would increase criminal penalties for a wide range of offenses, including manufacturing or selling Schedule I drugs like marijuana in the form of candy or beverages if there is “reasonable cause to believe” they will be sold to minors.
Led by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), alongside 10 other GOP members, the Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act contains provisions targeting substances that are in Schedule I or II of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), including cannabis.
While certain legal marijuana states have proactively taken steps to prohibit cannabis marketing that might appeal to children, many state markets continue to allow THC-infused beverages and sell edible gummies and cookies, for example.
The Senate legislation itself doesn’t explicitly mention marijuana, but a section-by-section analysis says that “manufacturers and traffickers of marijuana edibles and fentanyl and other illicit drugs are marketing and distributing these highly dangerous drugs as packaged candy (Nerds, Skittles, etc.).”
“For years, there have been reports of children, even younger than 6 years old, overdosing on these drugs due to edible consumption,” it says. “This provision is the language of the 2017 Grassley-Feinstein Protecting Kids from Candy-Flavored Drugs Act, which has not been reintroduced as a bipartisan measure this Congress. The language amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide enhanced penalties for marketing candy-flavored controlled substances to minors.”
Read more at Marijuana Moment