Big candy companies are taking legal action against upstart marijuana firms that are marketing products in look-alike packaging as the famous brands, endangering children who may inadvertently ingest them. As more and more states legalize recreational cannabis without strict rules and regulations, pot products are being sold in packages that could be mistaken for well-known brands such as Skittles and Life Savers, but are actually filled with high-potency marijuana. The candy companies want to not only protect their profits, but also curb accidental ingestion, as the majority of such products are in the fast-growing cannabis edibles category. Licensed manufacturers in legal states are required to test their products for potency and to adequately label packages, but that hasn’t stopped a spike in cases: in Washington State, for example, 122 cases of exposure to THC in children under 5 were reported in 2020, compared to 85 the year before.
Meanwhile, the number of overdoses and deaths last year in the Washington, D.C., metro area, including Virginia and Maryland, rose significantly, mirroring national trends during the pandemic lockdowns. Fatalities climbed 46 percent in the District, and Virginia reported a similar increase in its deadliest year ever. Shockingly, this is happening not far from the White House, where a Biden administration has been slow to enact promised policies to combat the opioid epidemic and other drug crises.
And finally, with drug deaths climbing in Massachusetts, child welfare officials there are increasingly concerned about children who witness overdoses, find parents unresponsive, and see syringes protruding from their arms. Nearly 500 children received services last year after witnessing deadly or near-fatal incidents, which results in a type of trauma that is often overlooked in the addiction crisis.