Debate Over Pot Candy Hones in on Hemp Ingredients

[IndianaToker]

By John Bazemore, The Associated Press
Source: Associated Press

Chicago -- As lawmakers crack down on the sale of marijuana-flavored lollipops, another debate is raging between their manufacturers and hemp product advocates over what is in the candy. Hemp advocates say the candy makers aren't being honest about what's in their confection and that publicity is hurting the sale of legal hemp products, made from a variety of the cannabis plant.

Chicago's City Council and Suffolk County, N.Y. both have passed laws banning the sale of marijuana-flavored candies. Lawmakers in Michigan, New Jersey and New York also have introduced legislation to ban or control the candies.

California-based Chronic Candy advertises that every lick of its candy is "like taking a hit." The company, though, says the candies contain only hemp oil, a common ingredient in health food, beauty supplies and other household products.

"There is nothing illegal in our ingredients and they are ingredients that are in most hard candy in the United States," said Tom Durkin, a Chicago attorney who represents California-based Chronic Candy.

Though they have no proof, hemp advocates maintain the candies contain cannabis flower essential oil, which they say is distilled from the flowers of the cannabis plant. That, they say, is illegal.

Rusty Payne, a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said cannabis flower essential oil would be illegal if it contains tetrahydrocannabinols, or THC, which is the illegal substance in marijuana, but he did not know whether it did.

Hemp oil has a nutty flavor, said Adam Eidinger, spokesman for Vote Hemp, an advocacy arm of the hemp industry.

"It tastes nothing like these lollipops," he said. "These lollipops taste and smell like marijuana."

Hemp has only a trace of THC, he said. It cannot be legally grown in the United States without a permit from the DEA, he said.

Hemp supporters acknowledge they cannot prove their claim about what's in the lollipops and neither the U.S. Food and Drug Administration nor the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration have tested the candies to determine their ingredients.

George Pauli, an associate director in the Office of Food Additive Safety at the FDA, said ingredients used in food and candy have to be approved generically by the FDA or be recognized as safe by scientists. Manufacturers are not required to register their formulas or ingredient lists with the FDA.

Payne said the DEA probably will test the lollipops in the future.

"Certainly, they are on the radar," he said. "It's something we're aware of."

While the debate over the lollipops' ingredients continues, states and cities across the country already are acting.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has issued a subpoena seeking information on the advertising and marketing practices of Chronic Candy.

"Just because something isn't illegal doesn't make it right. These are lollipops that are clearly targeted at kids," Madigan said. "As parents, you spend an enormous amount of time and energy saying to kids, 'Don't smoke, don't drink, don't do drugs.' Anything the glamorizes or lures them into these destructive behaviors shouldn't be promoted."

Durkin, the Chronic Candy attorney, said the lollipops are geared toward adults and the company has never intentionally targeted children.

He also said the company had given Madigan's office a list of ingredients in the lollipops although a Madigan spokeswoman said the office does not have the list.

While Vote Hemp has raised concerns about the contents of the marijuana-flavored lollipops, the group is not pushing to ban the lollipops, board member Tom Murphy said.

"We are pushing to make sure that people understand the difference between hemp oil, which is legal, and something that is illegal," he said. "What legislators and states choose to do is their own business."

Note: Hemp advocates say pot candy manufacturers give misleading information about their ingredients, drawing bad publicity for legal hemp products.

Source: Associated Press (Wire)
Author: John Bazemore, The Associated Press
Published: September 8, 2005
Copyright: 2005 The Associated Press
Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21096.shtml

[IndianaToker]

By Maureen Feighan, The Detroit News
Source: Detroit News

Michigan -- Marijuana may be off limits in Michigan but marijuana-flavored candies with names like Stoner Pops and Chronic Candy are perfectly legal and at least one state lawmaker is pushing for a change. Following a trend of state and cities cracking down on marijuana and hemp-flavored candies critic say send a bad message to kids, state Rep. Dudley Spade, D-Tipton, has proposed a bill to amend Michigan's penal code to ban the sale of candy and other confections that contain hemp, hemp flavoring or marijuana flavoring. Violations would result in up to one year in jail, a $5,000 fine or both.

"Drug use is among the top issues law enforcement officers deal with in terms of crimes among young people," said Spade, who is also working with the state attorney general's office to determine if some of the ingredients in pot-flavored candies are already illegal, making the product illegal. "We just don't need this kind of product out there and so easy to purchase. It's just a temptation we don't need."

The bill does not cover Internet sales, which involves interstate commerce issues. Spade said his initial intent is to get such treats off retail shelves.

Michigan isn't the first state to consider a crackdown on pot or hemp-flavored treats. Chicago banned it and Illinois, Texas and other states are considering similar bans.

But hemp supporters say such proposed bans unfairly lump pot-flavored candies with hemp candies, which are made with hemp seed oil and is legal under federal government standards. Pot-flavored candies are made from cannabis flower essential oil. And while the candies don't cause a high, some hemp supporters say the oil may not be covered under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act.

Hemp and marijuana are cousin plants but hemp does not contain tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the ingredient in marijuana that gives users a high.

"Hemp and marijuana are not the same," said Tim Beck, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "It's a gimmick to sell a product because of the lure of forbidden fruit."

Mark Gresser of St. Clair Shores thinks Michigan's proposed ban is ridiculous.

"It's crazy," Gresser said. "It's sterile candy. That'd be like someone saying you can't wear hemp clothing because it'll lead you to pot."

Spade said he first stumbled upon pot-flavored candy while shopping for a birthday present at Spencer Gifts, a novelty store, at a local mall. There, by the cash register, were Pot Suckers. He worries the products are aimed at kids.

"The concern is that it glorifies marijuana to make it seem cool and OK," Spade said.

At least one distributor has already yanked its pot-flavored lollipops from store shelves because of its controversial nature.

But Steven Trachtenberg, president of ICUP Inc. -- which distributed Pot Suckers lollipops and pulled them from shelves in July -- said Pot Suckers were aimed at an older market and it's ridiculous and unfounded to suggest marijuana-flavored candy would lead to future drug use.

"We have to wake up and look at parenting skills, our education system," he said. "We're being used as a scapegoat for a problem that's not going to be exacerbated by a fricking lollipop."

Note: A state lawmaker who proposed the legislation says those sweets could lead children to drugs.

Complete Title: Bill Prohibits Sale of Hemp, Marijuana-Flavored Candies

Source: Detroit News (MI)
Author: Maureen Feighan, The Detroit News
Published: Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Copyright: 2005 The Detroit News
Contact: letters@detnews.com
Website: http://www.detnews.com/
Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21177.shtml

[Packman]

The thought police are out of control.