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Since September 1, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has visited 64 businesses, seizing nearly 9,000 candy-like cannabis products that are packaged to appeal to kids. Today, Gov. Mike Parson has announced the creation of a statewide task force to fight the spread of unregulated hemp candy that is making children sick and high.
“DHSS investigations have confirmed our fears – product after product resembles popular snacks and candies that would be hard for me to determine they contain cannabis, let alone my five-year-old granddaughter. There’s no legitimate excuse for this, to what we’re doing to children. We’re not talking about adults. We’re not talking about legitimate companies that do the energy drinks, for example. They’re already regulated. You don’t see them putting it in a Coca Cola can and peddling it out here. That’s the big difference,” Parson said at a news conference today. That is up to the industry to regulate theirselves. If not, then the government is going to come in. They’re going to regulate it for you.”
While there are some out there who want Missourians to believe the proliferation of these harmful products is not an emergency or threat to the well-being of Missouri children, I, along with the Attorney General, DPS, @HealthyLivingMo, and other health experts, strongly disagree. pic.twitter.com/Z8R1IPMnuq
— Governor Mike Parson (@GovParsonMO) September 10, 2024
Missouri Poison Center Director Julie Weber said in 2018, the Center managed seven cases of children five and younger becoming ill from cannabis products, compared to 168 child exposures last year.
She said children can experience severe symptoms due to their size.
“So small children are higher at risk experiencing poisoning,” said Weber. “Symptoms range from mild drowsiness, difficulty walking, nausea, and vomiting to cases where we’ve managed with emergency departments, children having seizures, difficulty breathing, using mechanical ventilation to save them.”
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office will team up with the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control and DHSS to identify, investigate, and remove these items.
“Under state law, Missourians have a right to live free from fraud and deception in the marketplace,” said Bailey. “They have a right to know exactly what is in the products they are consuming. When purchasing products, Missourians have a right to know if they will be subject to serious and potentially dangerous side effects.”
Any businesses who don’t comply could be sued or criminally charged.
Parson’s move follows Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft twice rejecting the governor’s emergency rule that would ban these items. Ashcroft is still considering the governor’s proposed administrative rule, which would take several more months to complete.
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“}]] Since September 1, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has visited 64 businesses, seizing nearly 9,000 candy-like cannabis products that are packaged to appeal to kids. Today, Gov. Mike Parson has announced the creation of a statewide task force to fight the spread of unregulated hemp candy that is making children sick Read More