Safety Concerns Over Marijuana Edibles Packaging

With a seemingly irresistible assortment of marijuana edibles flooding the market, children are at an alarming risk of accidentally ingesting THC.

The need for child-safe edible packaging is becoming ever more pressing to protect our little ones from this dangerous substance.

The Packaging of Marijuana Edibles

Edibles are an increasingly popular form of consuming marijuana, as they allow users to experience the drug's effects without having to smoke. Marijuana edibles packaging is just as important as the product itself in ensuring customers can safely consume their product and abide by regulations. The packaging often comes with instructions on dosage and warnings about consuming edibles responsibly.

The packaging also has labels that indicate what cannabinoids and other components are present in the edible, providing consumers with more information to make informed decisions.

Packaging also needs to be compliant with all applicable local regulations. To this end, marijuana packaging solutions are designed with compliance in mind as well as ease of use and storage. Packages come in different styles such as boxes, bags, and containers; they must be moisture and air resistant to keep the products safe and unadulterated while offering extended shelf life. Packaging also plays an important role in the delivery of accurate dosing information, displaying potency, and THC/CBD ratio—all of which help consumers make informed decisions when buying marijuana edibles.

However, despite all the regulations and carefulness in package preparation, there are reports of issues occurring with children consuming marijuana edibles, which has led to calls to drastically improve the child-proof security of these sorts of products.

A Mother's Concern with Edible's Packaging

A recent case involved Florida Mom Morgan McCoy who has called for clearer packaging of marijuana edibles after her 6-year-old daughter accidentally ingested a gummy bear laced with Marijuana's active compound THC.

Morgan recalls that the unornate incident occurred on a Memorial Day in Jacksonville. A friend attending a party with her had jumped in a pool fully clothed unwittingly having a pack of Hawaiian Punch THC sweets in their pocket.

He was however a fully legal medical marijuana patient but when he ran inside to change clothes accidentally left the supercharged candy on a dresser drawer.

McCoy states “she came across the bag and like any six-year-old would eat the candy”. During the festivities, some of the kids went for a nap, including McCoy's daughter, but when she could not be woken much later alarm bells started to ring.

The child couldn't open her eyes and was not responding to stimuli, and this is when she started to seize, so the panic-stricken mother decided to call 911.

Upon arrival at the hospital, she was put under immediate observation, but all doctors can do in these cases is monitor and give the patient fluids. There are no effective treatments to reverse or inhibit the Psychoactive effects of cannabis.

McCoy was up all night with her husband watching her daughter's breaths per minute reduce sporadically followed by sudden spikes in heart rate. Following an overnight stay at the hospital luckily her daughter recovered. She commented that the next day her daughter's urine was a strange brown colour interpreting this as a negative effect on the kidneys. McCoy is now seeking tougher regulations and controls on the packaging of marijuana edibles.

McCoy has reached out to multiple legislators urging them to review marijuana edibles safety with a particular emphasis on the packaging. She claims many parents are standing by idly whilst companies target kids with deadly doses of THC. The company she claims is guilty of negligence and child endangerment on a national scale but many who do not recognise the legitimacy of medical marijuana will ask questions as to whether these products even be in a child's surrounding environment at all.

The Challenge of Getting Edibles Packaging Right for All

Edibles, or marijuana-infused food products, have become increasingly popular in the recreational and medicinal cannabis markets. Unfortunately, packaging for these edibles can be easily confused for regular food products; resulting in accidental ingestion of marijuana by children or others who may not know that they are consuming these types of items for reasons such as they look like sweet packaging.

This is an issue that many states have addressed when legalising recreational and medicinal marijuana use by implementing strict regulations on edible product labelling which must be used to differentiate the item from a typical food product.

Edible producers have even developed specific packaging such as tamper-proof bags, resealable containers, and child-proof twists off lids to protect individuals from potential harm caused by confusion over what type of product they are consuming.

Edibles manufacturers must take into consideration consumer safety while at the same time complying with legal requirements to continue offering products safely.