USA – California State Assembly member, Jacqui has proposed a bill to prevent cannabis product packaging from appealing to children.
Assembly Bill 1207’s author, Irwin, said some product packaging is leading to children being accidentally exposed to cannabis.
“Since the passage of Proposition 64, pediatric exposures to cannabis have increased exponentially,” Irwin wrote in an official explanation of the bill.
“These exposures are heavily influenced by the use of features on cannabis product packaging that are explicitly attractive to children.
“Children who unintentionally consume cannabis consistently require poison control treatment, and in many cases, they can also expose their fellow elementary and middle school peers to cannabis.”
Currently, California law concerning cannabis packaging only says that “packages and labels shall not be made to be attractive to children” without further explaining what that means.
AB 1207 would more specifically define “attractive to children” to include: the use of images of cartoons, toys, robots, fictional animals, real or fictional humans; any likeness to images, characters, or phrases that are popularly used to advertise to children.
In addition, the AB 1207 definition includes; the use of brand names or imitations of brand packaging of “cereals, sweets, chips, or other food products typically marketed to children” and the word “candy” or any variant such as “kandy” or “kandee”
The bill would also specifically prohibit marijuana products intended for smoking from containing “any artificial, synthetic, or natural flavoring… other than the natural flavor or aroma of cannabis.”
The bill passed was approved by the Assembly’s Business and Professions Committee and it is currently being considered by the Appropriations Committee before going before the full chamber for a vote.
The new bill comes at a time when the U.S. cannabis packaging market size valued at US$842.7 million in 2021, is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30.6% from 2022 to 2030, according to Grand View Research report.
The market is witnessing significant growth owing to the increasing legalization of cannabis usage in U.S. states.
The recreational use of cannabis is also gaining a green signal from the states, which is further supporting the market growth.
The major revenue-driven states of the country include California, Colorado, Michigan, Florida, Washington, Nevada, Oregon, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Illinois.
These are considered mature markets of the country, which have legalized the use of cannabis in the medical industry due to its health benefits.
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