New Missouri regulations aim to protect children from consuming marijuana products

By Tia Maggio

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    COLUMBIA, Missouri (KOMU) — After decades of pushing “plain packaging” for tobacco products to make cigarettes less appealing to young people, Missouri is now testing to see if the same impact goes for recreational marijuana.

Plain packaging prohibits the use of logos, colors, brand images or other promotional information on packaging, according to the World Health Organization.

This term was originally introduced in the United States to combat marketing promotion of tobacco that could be found misleading and distracting from health warnings or instructions.

New regulations from the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) for the packaging, labeling and design of marijuana products went into effect Sunday.

One of the regulations from the Missouri Code of State Regulations (CSR) reads, “All marijuana product shall be produced, packaged, and labeled in a manner that protects public health and is not attractive to children.”

The new regulations aim to prevent children from ingesting marijuana products.

The changes come after the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services received more than 800 public comments suggesting revisions to the rules in March.

Julie Weber has worked at the Missouri Poison Control Center for 33 years now and has been the director for 15 years.

Over the years of working on the hotline, Weber said the center has seen the number of children exposed to marijuana double since 2018, and that number continues to increase.

“This last year [2022], we had over 125 exposures in children, five years and younger,” Weber said. “And already this year, I’m looking at that same age group, and we’re only to halfway through the year, we have 124 exposures.”

Edibles are the most common product exposed to children, according to Weber.

“They look like candy, like gummy bears, gummy worms, sometimes some of the edible brownies and foods,” she said. “But really it’s the candy products.”

Another regulation from the CSR specifically targets this problem and says, “No marijuana product or packaging may be designed using the shape or any part of the shape of a human, animal, or fruit, including realistic, artistic, caricature, or cartoon renderings.”

Fortunately, the majority of the exposures have seen minor effects, but some kids have required visits to the emergency department, according to Weber.

“The worst-case scenario would be seizures, and it could slow down or stop their breathing,” Weber said.

Although Weber hopes the new regulations will lead to a decline in exposure cases, she said the key is storage of the products.

“In a cabinet, out of their [children’s] reach, not even in a room they would have access to, is the best,” she recommended.

While the use of plain packaging for marijuana products is aimed at protecting young children, some dispensaries feel they should not be at fault for the exposure of marijuana products, especially when other industry products use similar designs.

“Three Olives has a vodka named Loopy that resembles Fruit Loops,” a Columbia dispensary staff member said.

Beginning Aug. 31, dispensaries will be required to put any new final marijuana product through DHSS’ Item Approval process, which will check to make sure the product complies with the regulations.

Dispensaries will then have until the end of the year to sell or change any marijuana products or labels that were created before the new regulations went into effect.

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