GOP Senators File Bill To Ramp Up Criminalization Of ‘Candy-Flavored’ Marijuana Edibles

A coalition of Republican senators have reintroduced a bill that would
increase criminal penalties for a wide range of offenses, including manufacturing
or selling Schedule I drugs like marijuana in the form of candy or beverages
if there is “reasonable cause to believe” they will be sold to minors.

Led by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), alongside
10 other GOP members, the Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act
contains provisions targeting substances that are in Schedule I or II of
the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), including cannabis.

While certain legal marijuana states have proactively taken steps to
prohibit cannabis marketing that might appeal to children, many state
markets continue to allow THC-infused beverages and sell edible gummies and
cookies, for example.

The Senate legislation itself doesn’t explicitly mention marijuana, but a
section-by-section analysis says that “manufacturers and traffickers of
marijuana edibles and fentanyl and other illicit drugs are marketing and
distributing these highly dangerous drugs as packaged candy (Nerds,
Skittles, etc.).”

“For years, there have been reports of children, even younger than 6 years
old, overdosing on these drugs due to edible consumption,” it says. “This
provision is the language of the 2017 Grassley-Feinstein Protecting Kids
from Candy-Flavored Drugs Act, which has not been reintroduced as a
bipartisan measure this Congress. The language amends the Controlled
Substances Act to provide enhanced penalties for marketing candy-flavored
controlled substances to minors.”

The language in the current legislation also mirrors a version of the bill
that Grassley and other Republican lawmakers filed in 2022.

In a press release, Grassley blamed the Biden administration for what he
described as a “massive spike in violent crime,” and he said it’s now the
responsibility of Congress “to resolve any legal ambiguities that may
weaken our ability to hold criminals fully accountable.”

With respect to the flavored drugs provisions, it should be noted that
every state that has legalized marijuana for adult use in the U.S. has set
an age limit that prevents people under 21 from legally accessing cannabis
shops. Those dispensaries, and the brands they sell, therefore generally
would not seem to meet the criteria for knowingly selling to underage
people. (Studies have found consistent compliance at marijuana shops when
it comes to enforcing ID requirements.)

If Grassley’s legislation is enacted, one possible effect would be that
people who are federally prosecuted for such criminal activity could face
up to 10 additional years in prison for a first offense if the cannabis
product sold to a person under 18 was shaped or flavored like candy. Second
and subsequent offenses would carry up to 20 additional years in prison.

Legalization advocates largely support measures to restrict access to
underage people, but some bristle at the possibility of enacting
significantly increased penalties that could be applied by overzealous
prosecutors as part of the war on drugs.

“Soft-on-crime policies have failed to ensure our justice system and law
enforcement at all levels have the necessary authorities and tools to
maintain order and protect communities from dangerous criminals,” Sen. John
Boozman (R-AR), the co-lead on the measure, said. “I am proud to join
Senator Grassley and my colleagues to ensure violent offenders are held
accountable under the law.”

Unlike Grassley’s press release, Boozman’s specifically states that
provisions of the bill would “outlaw the marketing of candy-flavored drugs
including marijuana and fentanyl to minors.”

Other cosponsors are Sens. Mike Crapo (R-ID), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Bill
Cassidy (R-LA), James Lankford (R-OK), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Susan
Collins (R-ME), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Jim
Risch (R-ID).

“Our legal system has a duty to punish the guilty and protect the innocent,
and conflicting legal standards hamper the ability of federal authorities
to do so,” Crapo said in a press release circulated by his office. “These
necessary reforms clarify and strengthen federal drug and violent crime
laws to ensure justice is applied fairly to all.”

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*Photo courtesy of Pexels/Kindel Media.*

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‘Candy-Flavored’ Marijuana Edibles appeared first on Marijuana Moment.