When it comes to marketing marijuana, there aren’t set standards because marijuana is still illegal at the federal level.
Packaging on some flavored cannabis products is causing concern among children's parents and health officials, who fear it could appeal to people under the age of 21.
Marijuana use may harm the developing teenage brain, according to the CDC.
"I think jurisdictions should consider curtailing the availability of candy and fruit flavors, and overall, you know, we should be doing the kind of public health research that we need to do to understand what types of products are most appealing to youth so that we can provide that information to policymakers for these continued discussions,” Katherine Keyes, a professor at Columbia University, told reporters.
There aren’t set standards when it comes to marketing marijuana because marijuana is still illegal on a federal level. Medical use is legal in 37 states and 21 states allow recreational use.
"We can regulate until we're blue in the face. But the truth is, it's a partnership between a compliant industry, strong regulations that are robust in their protection for youth," said Lyla Hunt from the New York State office of cannabis management.
"And then really with parents, too, because once you bring the product home, it becomes an important discussion of making sure that those products are stored, locked up, out of reach and out of sight of young people."
New York, which legalized recreational marijuana use in 2021, forbids marketing and advertising that "is designed in any way to appeal to children or other minors." The state has yet to adopt rules on advertising that could ban cartoons and candy depictions that could attract users under 21.
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