• Fruit snack or edible? Study finds some

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Tue Apr 19 22:30:44 2022
    Fruit snack or edible? Study finds some cannabis products look like
    popular snacks
    Copycat edibles increase risk for accidental ingestion by children,
    include high THC content

    Date:
    April 19, 2022
    Source:
    New York University
    Summary:
    Some cannabis edibles look remarkably like popular snack foods
    and may be easily confused for them, finds a new study.



    FULL STORY ==========================================================================
    Some cannabis edibles look remarkably like popular snack foods and may
    be easily confused for them, finds a new study led by researchers at NYU
    School of Global Public Health published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.


    ========================================================================== These "copycat" edibles also have levels of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC --
    the main psychoactive compound in cannabis -- that far exceed the limits
    set by state cannabis regulations.

    "At first glance, most of the packages look almost exactly like familiar snacks. If these copycat cannabis products are not stored safely, there
    is the potential for accidental ingestion by children or adults," said
    Danielle Ompad, associate professor of epidemiology at NYU School of
    Global Public Health and the study's lead author.

    Edibles are a popular and growing segment of the cannabis market. In
    states where cannabis use is legal, more than half (56%) of people who
    use cannabis consume edibles, with younger people more likely to do so.

    Recent news reports have drawn attention to edibles that use similar
    branding and imagery to mimic popular snack foods. These copycat
    cannabis products are a public health concern given that people --
    including children -- could mistake them for snacks and accidentally
    consume them. From 2017 to 2019, U.S. Poison Control Centers handled
    nearly 2,000 cases of young children ages 0 to 9 consuming edibles.

    To gain a deeper understanding of copycat edibles, the researchers
    collected hundreds of photos of cannabis products and analyzed their
    packaging, including branding, names, imagery, and THC content. They
    focused on photos for 267 edibles and found that 8% (22 photos) closely resembled 13 different snack products.

    Twelve of the products were candies or sweet snacks (fruit chews, fruit
    snacks, rice and marshmallow treats, and gummies) and one was a salty
    snack (chips).

    Eight of the 13 packages used the exact brand or product name of the
    original product; the remaining five used names that were similar (for instance, "Stoner Patch Dummies" instead of "Sour Patch Kids"). Seven
    of the packages used the same cartoon or brand character as the original product.

    Most states that have legalized cannabis limit the amount of THC in
    edibles - - typically 5 mg or 10 mg of THC per dose and 100 mg per
    package. According to information listed on the packaging of the lookalike products, these edibles contained an average of 459 mg of THC and a
    range of 300 to 600 mg per package, greatly exceeding the maximum limits.

    "While each package is likely intended to include multiple doses, few
    packages indicate the serving size or number of servings," said Ompad,
    who is also the deputy director of the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV
    Research (CDUHR) at NYU School of Global Public Health. "Moreover, if
    we're considering 10 mg a standard dose, these products could contain an alarming 30 to 60 doses per package." The findings highlight the risk
    that these copycat products could be attractive to children, given the
    colorful packaging and use of familiar branding and characters.

    "Policies to prevent cannabis packaging from appealing to children
    haven't stopped copycat products from entering the market -- nor have
    food brands taking legal action against cannabis companies for copyright infringement," said Ompad. "People who purchase edibles that look like
    snack foods should store them separately from regular snacks and out of
    reach of children." In addition to Ompad, study authors include Kyle
    Snyder, Simon Sandh, Daniel Hagen, Emily Goldmann, and Melody Goodman
    of NYU School of Global Public Health; Kewanda Collier of Morgan State University; and Andy Tan of the University of Pennsylvania. The research
    was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (P30DA011041, R21DA052421, and R01DA054236) and National Cancer Institute (R01CA237670).


    ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by New_York_University. Note: Content
    may be edited for style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Danielle C. Ompad, Kyle M. Snyder, Simon Sandh, Daniel Hagen,
    Kewanda J.

    Collier, Emily Goldmann, Melody S. Goodman, Andy S.L. Tan. Copycat
    and lookalike edible cannabis product packaging in the United
    States. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2022; 109409 DOI: 10.1016/
    j.drugalcdep.2022.109409 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220419092355.htm

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