DoingItLocal

(Hartford, CT) — Attorney General William Tong joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general urging Congress to protect children from cannabis copycat products. These unregulated, illegal products are designed to look like popular snack items and are contributing to increased accidental THC consumption in children. 

On June 16, the FDA warned that between January 1, 2021 and May 31, 2022, National Poison Control Centers received 10,448 single substance exposure cases involving edible products containing THC. Of these cases, 77 percent involved patients 19 years of age or younger. The Connecticut Poison Control Center has reported 189 cases of marijuana edible ingestion in children under age 19 since 2020. Of those, 150 were sent to the emergency department, and 66 were ultimately admitted to the hospital.

Widely available, easily mistaken for name brand snacks such as Oreo cookies, Doritos chips, Cheetos, NERDs, and more, cannabis copycat products often are unintentionally given to children or mistaken by children for the brand name snack products, resulting in unsuspecting children ingesting large amounts of THC.

“These lookalike products are unregulated and unlawful and may contain highly concentrated doses of THC. While responsible adults may be able to check serving sizes and consume these products without harm, a child who accidentally eats the whole package could become very sick. Connecticut has legalized adult-use cannabis, but many of these products fall well outside the range of what will ever be safe or authorized for sale here. Sellers may be subject to civil action under Connecticut’s consumer protection laws, but Congress needs to step in and help stop the spread of these copycats nationwide,” said Attorney General Tong.

Under Connecticut law, cannabis products may not be sold under a brand name that is identical or similar to the name of an existing non-cannabis product.  Moreover, when retail establishments are licensed to sell cannabis, edible products will be subject to strict safety controls.  For example, a single adult serving size of an edible cannabis product under our statute contains five milligrams of THC, and a multiple-serving package of an edible cannabis product shall contain no more than one hundred milligrams of total THC. Some of the cannabis lookalike products currently for sale contain five to six times that limit. Sellers may be subject to legal action and substantial civil penalties under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The attorneys general say that while they do not all agree on the best regulatory scheme for cannabis and THC generally, they all agree on one thing: copycat THC edibles pose a grave risk to the health, safety, and welfare of our children.

Congress should immediately enact legislation authorizing trademark holders of well-known and trusted consumer packaged goods to hold accountable those malicious actors who are marketing illicit copycat THC edibles to children.

This press release was made possible by:

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont announced that he has signed a declaration that will enable crucial federal support Connecticut has been receiving throughout the COVID-19 pandemic – including supplemental food benefits for households in need and non-congregate housing for individuals experiencing homelessness – to continue through December 28, 2022, or until the federal public health emergency ends, whichever is earlier.

The governor specifically stated in the declaration that he does not intend to issue any executive orders under this declaration but rather wants to ensure that his administration has the authorities necessary to apply for and receive federal assistance in response to the pandemic.

“We cannot ignore the reality that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted low-income families and communities, many of whom continue to depend on public assistance programs administered by the state,” Governor Lamont said. “The continuation of this declaration ensures that Connecticut residents who need additional support during this time will still have access to those resources.”

Having this declaration in place throughout the pandemic has enabled Connecticut households that are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to access supplemental, emergency benefits to purchase food. On average, these supplemental benefits have been providing households an additional $154.74 in food benefits per month, with all enrolled households receiving at least an additional $95.00 per month. Connecticut has received and distributed $748 million in emergency SNAP benefits since these additional allotments were first provided by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service at the onset of the pandemic.

The declaration has also enabled the state to place 6,090 individuals experiencing homelessness and several hundred survivors of domestic violence into non-congregate housing during the pandemic. Non-congregate housing is a location where each individual or household has living space that offers some level of privacy such as hotels, motels, or dormitories. Between March 2022 and May 2022, approximately 1,183 individuals experiencing homelessness were placed in non-congregate housing. Since the pandemic began, Connecticut has received $7.7 million in federal reimbursements for this non-congregate housing assistance and is expecting an additional $20.2 million in pending reimbursements.

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