#because he ate half a package of skittles

[purplesaline]

So how was your morning? I got to induce vomiting in two 7 month old puppies because they got into someone's medication and I had no idea what they may have eaten (if anything) and then tried to fees them some activated charcoal (which was funny more than anything).

Luckily only one small Cipralex and a couple vitamin D tablets were missing so even if they had eaten them at their size weight it would have been unlikely to do harm even if they hadn't puked up their breakfast.

Russel is a menace with her counter-surfing!

Here is a short clip of Parker investigating some charcoal covered kibble. He clearly thinks it's demonic (he did eventually decide it was edible at least)

[bangtan-fanfiction]

BTS Reactions To Your Obsession With Skittles

[Hyung Line]

A/N: Hello y’all! This is my first time writing BTS reactions, or even BTS fanfiction. I decided to give y’all a “taste” (get it?... cause the reaction is about Skittles and I said taste?... I’ll leave) on what I can do. Just keep in mind that this is the first reactions I’m writing, so there will probably be some things wrong.

Now, this reaction is basically based on myself. But don’t worry, this is only to get my writing skills flowing again. I fully admit that I do, in fact, have an obsession with the rainbow candy called Skittles...

I’ll stop rambling now and move on to actually writing their reactions.

Enjoy!

[Masterlist] [Maknae Line]

Seokjin (Jin)

You were furiously looking through your cabinet of snacks trying to find your precious 41 oz package of Skittles that you purposely hid from the world, except yourself of course. You were so emerged in finding it, that you didn’t hear someone come into the kitchen.

“Uhm... Should I even ask?” you quickly looked up and saw that it was Jin. You gave him a look of confusion before realizing what position you were in. You had climbed on top of the counter instead of using a chair this time because you were feeling lazy. You decided to give up on your search and hopped down off the counter. And by giving up, you were gonna ask him about your “secret bag” of Skittles.

“Jin, have you seen a 41 oz package Skittles? I mean, I tried to hid it from y’all, but apparently I didn’t do a good job.”

“Oh, you mean the bag that was shoved behind the Doritos?” you knew that wasn’t the smartest hiding place, but you were in a hurry and basically threw it in there. You were planning on hiding it better later.

“Yes, and where might it be?”

“I would have to say in my stomach.”

“Not funny Seokjin.”

“It’s true though.”

“OMG, YOU FLIPPING ATE A 41 OZ BAG OF SKITTLES, AND NOT TO MENTION THAT THEY WERE MINE TOO!”

“I’m sorry? First, your name wasn’t on it and second, how could you be mad that I ate them all when you were going to do the same?!”

You huffed because he was right, you were going to eat the whole bag while probably watching your favorite movie.

“But still, you know I love Skittles. How could you do that to me?” you pouted at him, but all he gave you was a smirk which confused you.

“I’m joking with you. I didn’t eat them, they are right here” He reached up into the snack cabinet and pulled out a box of popcorn. You raised an eyebrow and opened you mouth to speak but he pulled something out of the box. And it was definitely not popcorn. A 41 oz red bag labeled “Skittles” was being handed over to you. You were in shock, almost dropping the bag on the ground.

“I’m still surprised by the fact you get so protective over Skittles” Jin chuckled out while your brain finally registered what just happened. You tore open the bag to make sure they were actually in there. You smiled with glee, thanked Jin, and made your way to your room.

“You and your Skittles...” Jin mumbled.

Yoongi (Suga)

“Y/N, I’m back. I was half way to the meeting when they called to say it was cancelled” Yoongi announced while entering through the door. He placed his keys on the small side table and slid off his coat and shoes.

“Y/N?” He announced once again because they would usually reply straight away which was odd that they didn’t. He made his way to their bedroom, thinking that they must have fallen asleep. He opened the door and to his surprise, you were, in fact, not asleep. You laying on the bed with empty packages of Skittles around you, besides the one currently in your hand. You looked at him in shock.

“I... um... thought you had a meeting?” You stuttered out, “ This isn’t how I wanted you to know.”

“The meeting was cancelled. And, what do you mean, for me to know what?”

“That I’m obsessed with Skittles.” You replied while trying to quickly clean up your mess.

“That’s totally fine with me. As long as you don’t interrupt me in my sleep with you sugar high from all the Skittles.”

“Pfft… the only sugar I need is you.”

“Cringe Y/N... just cringe... now lets take a nap.”

“But... fine.”

Hoseok (J-hope)

You and Hobi were going on a walk in your neighborhood park. I was a routinely thing you two would do to get your day starting on the right track. You were making small talk with him as usual when you heard someone yell out to you.

“OMG! Is that you Skittles?!?

You both turned around to see a person running up to you both. You instantly recognized who they were. They were your high school bestie, you lost touch with them when they had decided to travel to Japan.

“Oh... Hi Y/F/N” you waved at them. You were slightly embarrassed now because no one had called you Skittles in a long time.

“Y/N, you know them? Why were they yelling Skittles?” Hobi questioned in confusion. Y/F/N cut you off before you got the chance to explain anything.

“Skittles is Y/N’s nickname. They got it because they’re obsessed with Skittles.”

“I didn't know you were obsessed with Skittles Y/N. I knew you liked them, but not that much” Hobi faced you with a grin which confused you.

“Well, it was nice seeing you again, but I better run off now. Toodle-oo!” Y/F/N quickly made their exit, leaving just you and Hobi standing there.

“What? You can laugh, I know it’s a bit cringey” you explained while rubbing your arm.

“Nope! I love it! I can say our ship name is Sunshine Skittles. Cause you always need some sun to make that rainbow in the rain.”

You laughed at his words and you both continued on your walk.

Namjoon (RM)

“Hey Namjoon? Can you go buy me a package of Skittles? I kinda ran out” you said as you walked into the living room. You may or may not have eaten a 41 oz bag of Skittles in a week and still wanting more. He looked up from the TV with shock.

“Skittles? Why would you need them, aren't they bad?”

“Yeah, but I really crave them and I kinda have an obsession with them”

“I think you need to see a doctor if you’re obsessed”

“I don’t need a doctor Namjoon. They aren’t that bad”

“Yes they are Y/N. They can really hurt you.” He explained standing up and grabbing onto your shoulders.

“Wait, are we talking about the same thing here?”

“I believe so, we are talking about Skittles. You know, the drug Skittles. I didn’t think you were into that kind of thing.”

“Oh god Namjoon! No, a thousands times no! I’m not talking about that, I’m talking about the candy, Skittles candy!”

“Oh...”

“Jeez, you know I would never do that.”

“I guess I’ll go buy you some Skittles, the candy.”

“Make sure to get me another 41 oz bag of them for what just happened.”

“Another?”

“Hush. Now go fetch me my candy”

[orbemnews]

Big Candy Is Angry At first glance, the Skittles package appears to be just like the one sold in the candy aisle of a supermarket: It has block letters filled in with white, a flowing rainbow and a red candy that replaces the dot above the letter “i.” A closer look reveals some small differences: a background pattern of small, stylized marijuana leaves; a warning label; and numbers that reveal the amount of THC, the intoxicating substance in cannabis, in each piece of candy. The images are included in a lawsuit that the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, owned by the candy behemoth Mars Inc., filed in May against five companies for selling cannabis-infused edibles that look like our old friends Skittles, Starburst and Life Savers. Though the suit focuses on intellectual property rights, the plaintiffs also argue that the copycat products could lead people, particularly children, to mistakenly ingest drugs. A spokeswoman for Mars Inc. wrote in an email that the company is “deeply disturbed” by the products. America is at an interesting crossroads: one where Big Candy, vilified in the wellness era as a primary source of refined sugar, has become an unlikely sheriff in the Wild West of recreational marijuana consumption roamed by pandemic-stressed adults. In recent years, lawsuits similar to the one filed by Wrigley have been brought by the Hershey Company (against TinctureBelle for products resembling Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Heath bars, Almond Joy bars and York peppermint patties), Mondelez International (against a company hawking Stoney Patch Kids) and Ferrara Candy Company (against a store selling Medicated Nerds Rope). These lawsuits have all been settled, with the smaller companies agreeing to halt production and sales of the offending products. Many public health officials fret that without proper regulation, accidental ingestion cases will continue to rise among children as the availability of edibles grows. Some poison control centers have already observed this trend in their data. For example, there were 122 cases of exposure to THC for children under 5 in Washington State in the first nine months of 2020, compared to 85 for the same time period in 2019. The most common side effects reported included vomiting, lethargy and chest pain. While many edible companies operating in states where medical or recreational cannabis is legal strive to comply with their local regulations, the illegal market is still thriving. “When companies like these create headlines for doing what we’ve purposely avoided at Wana, I feel anger and frustration,” said Joe Hodas, the chief marketing officer at Wana Brands, a Colorado company that sells cannabis-infused products. A recent review of the websites belonging to defendants in the Wrigley suit turned up cannabis-infused offerings like Stoner Patch Dummies, the Worlds Dankest Gushers, Gasheads Xtremes Sourfuls, Trips Ahoy, Buttafingazzz and Caribo Happy Cola. “The situation has become more and more egregious,” said Christopher Gindlesperger, a spokesman for the National Confectioners Association, a trade organization in D.C. with 350 members, including Mars Inc., Hershey’s, Ferrara and Mondelez. “The cannabis companies cannot and should not be allowed to tarnish existing brands at will. It creates consumer confusion.” Discreet Little Treats A majority of states now allow the use of medical marijuana (Alabama just joined the list), and 18 of them, including New York, have legalized recreational marijuana as well. Though sales in New York are not expected to begin until 2022 at the earliest, businesses are rushing to grab real estate and prepare for the market’s opening. Some are already selling Delta-8-THC, derived from hemp, in candy form. The spread of legalization has brought more players and consumers into the edibles market. “Edibles are easy. They’re portable. You don’t have to find a space to step aside and smoke,” said Sean Arnold, a founder of Terradigm Consulting, which advises cannabis companies on licensing, infrastructure and product development. Edibles have come a long way from the days of pot brownies, when half a pastry could lead to hours of debilitated function or to nothing at all. “Ten years ago it was the luck of the draw if you bought a brownie,” said Henry Wykowski, a lawyer who has focused on cannabis law for 17 years. “You didn’t know where you would wind up.” Today, licensed manufacturers are required by states to test their products for potency and to label packages with the amount of THC in each dose, and in the entire package. Some edibles companies make products with small amounts of THC, allowing the inexperienced to experiment with dosages. The accessibility of edibles and the discretion they afford has made them the fastest-growing category in cannabis, according to Surfside, a cannabis data-analytics company in New York. Surfside estimates that edibles have outpaced the growth of the rest of the cannabis market by 29 percent in the last three months compared with the same period in 2020. Mr. Wykowski said that transgressions that may have escaped the notice of large corporations like Mars or Hershey’s in the past are on their radar today “because cannabis is big business now.” He teaches a course on cannabis law at University of California’s Hastings College of the Law, and one of the sessions deals with laws around likenesses of other products. “Five or 10 years ago when cannabis was starting to take off, it was a joke to have something like Cap’n Punch, a cereal that’s infused,” Mr. Wykowski said. “But the industry has matured, and the people who know what they’re doing no longer engage in that kind of conduct.” Nonetheless, he regularly works with edibles companies that receive cease-and-desist letters from candy corporations. Most of these cases do not reach the courts. “Ninety percent of the time people will look at the letter and stop,” Mr. Wykowski said. Most legal cannabis companies strive to follow regulations closely. Lightshade, which runs nine dispensaries in the Denver area, has an eight-person compliance and auditing team led by Charisse Harris. Ms. Harris said that there are four checkpoints at which a product is assessed, and that every week, her auditors do random checks in the stores. Some red flags include products that feature any iteration of the word “candy” (for example, “kandy” or “candie”), and ones that do not come in packaging that meets state requirements around child safety, Ms. Harris said. “I say no a lot,” she added. Compliance becomes more complicated for companies operating in different states, since there are no federal regulations around cannabis. “In Florida, our packaging is black-and-white, and there are no images,” Mr. Hodas said of Wana, which operates in 11 states and in Canada. The gummies are a plain off-white color. In Colorado, on the other hand, the Wana container has a picture of pink watermelon slices and the gummies are a rich coral hue. There are three main aspects of a candy that can be protected by trademark and copyright laws, said Nancy J. Mertzel, a lawyer who specializes in intellectual property law. Take Hershey’s Kisses. “You have the name Kisses, which is a trademark, the shape of the candy itself, which is both a trademark and trade dress, and the packaging, which is protected by copyright,” Ms. Mertzel said. Ms. Mertzel said other possible intellectual property protections include patents — for example, Mars has sought patents for its chocolate, which is more resistant to melting than other formulations — and trade-secret laws. The most famous example of a trade secret is the Coca-Cola formula; another is Hellmann’s mayonnaise. The case Wrigley has brought against the cannabis copycats, Ms. Mertzel said, is straightforward. “I certainly understand Wrigley’s concerns about having its intellectual property used by a third party, and those concerns are exacerbated when it’s for a product that children really shouldn’t be getting,” Ms. Mertzel said. She compared the public health concerns at stake to those that were widely discussed when the tobacco industry used cartoons to target children in the 1960s. Even the Flintstones were in on it, with Fred and Barney promoting Winston cigarettes in an infamous commercial spot. Child-Proofing Cannabis Andrew Brisbo, the executive director of the Marijuana Regulatory Agency in Michigan, said that preventing youth access to cannabis is one of the primary functions of the program he oversees. And edibles are top of mind. “When we look at accidental consumption, edibles are a primary issue,” Mr. Brisbo said. “A young person won’t accidentally smoke a marijuana cigarette.” Gillian Schauer, a public health and policy consultant who has worked with a number of states on cannabis policy issues, said there are two potential concerns with edibles from a public health policy perspective: overconsumption and accidental consumption. Because edibles can take a while to kick in, people sometimes rush to eat more without waiting for the first effects. Some inexperienced users do not know what amount of THC they should consume and are not educated on the potential effects of cannabis. A low-dose amount is considered 1 to 2 milligrams of THC, but effects vary based on many factors, like body weight and how much food the consumer ate that day. Accidental consumption can affect anyone, but, Dr. Schauer said, “it has primarily impacted children because they can confuse cannabis edible products with other edible products, because most edibles look like candy or cookies or cake.” She pointed to reports compiled by poison control centers in Colorado and Washington, the two earliest states to legalize recreational cannabis use, in 2012. Between 2014 and 2018, annual calls to the Washington Poison Center about children under 5 being unintentionally exposed to cannabis nearly tripled, rising from 34 to 94. In 2017, Washington State began requiring that all edibles have a logo stating “Not for Kids” (not that this will mean much to a 2-year-old). In Colorado, edibles are the leading method by which children under 5 accidentally consume cannabis. In 2019, in Colorado, 108 people under the age of 19 were accidentally exposed to cannabis. In 2011, the year before the state legalized recreational use, that number was 16. Like Washington, Colorado now requires packaging of edibles to include a warning symbol. The state also bans the use of the word “candy” on any marijuana packaging, and the sale of edibles that look like people, animals or fruit. Dr. Schauer said other ways to reduce the risks of accidental ingestion include mandating childproof packaging, requiring that each edible item in a package is individually wrapped, limiting the potency of each individual edible, and educating consumers who live with children on how to store their cannabis products. Making packages that will not catch the eye of a child is important, she said. In Canada, for example, where cannabis is legal, federal law requires packaging to have a uniform color and a smooth texture, and not to have cutout windows, scents, sounds or inserts (among other requirements). Despite the stringency of Canada’s laws, as recently as mid-May, a child was hospitalized in the province of New Brunswick after eating Stoneo cookies that were made to look like Oreos, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In America, state laws are far less strict; for the most part, they prohibit the inclusion of cartoon characters and make general statements about how the packaging should not appeal to a child. “The risks can be much more limited than we’ve seen them be so far,” Dr. Schauer said. Mr. Hodas has three children, aged 12, 17 and 19. He has been in the cannabis industry for more than seven years. When he has products at home, he keeps them secure in bags made by StashLogix. It may not slow down a motivated 15-year-old, but it will stop a toddler, he said. “If you have it locked up, and you keep in a place where they can’t reach it or see it, that’s the best way to prevent ingestion,” Mr. Hodas said. To parents of a certain age, the situation may bring to mind the 1983 public service announcement “We’re Not Candy,” in which a barbershop quartet of singing pills on television advises children “to have a healthy fear of us.” That the products now under scrutiny are a form of candy, just enhanced — and that no one is watching the same screen anymore — makes it difficult to imagine a marijuana meme so memorable. Source link Orbem News #angry #Big #Candy

[etudiante-en-echange]

Snowboarding

22 January, 2017 So, last weekend here. I feel like that still hasn't really set in. I've been trying to use every bit of my time here, so I haven't really had much time to think about how soon I'm leaving. I really wish I could stay here longer. While I miss everyone at home, I have friends and a family here that I am going to miss immensely when I return. I have learned so much and I been able to meet so many people and I have grown so much in these last 5 months. Monday evening me and my host mom went to a very bizarre dance performance. It was about 2 guys in a locker room who started trying to show off, and it talked a lot about forming relationships, and what those relationships really mean. (At the end, they kissed) It was very interesting, and I liked the story and meaning, but their style of dance was not my favorite. Wednesday I spent the evening in the city, and it was probably the last time I will be able to really walk around and see it, because this week I am having friends coming over after my French class. (Although I hope my French friends and I will be able to go into the city next Friday for a while) I went with one of my AFS friends, who is also going to be leaving, and we got some souvenirs, and just kinda walked around for a while and enjoyed our time there. Thursday was nice because I had 2 hours free because part of the class was doing oral presentations, and anyone who didn't have a presentation didn't have to be there, so I spent the time in the library with my friends, and we talked and took a bunch of photos, most of them much more fun and silly than the one above, but I thought the one above was the nicest. (from left to right is Elisa, Johan, Charlie and me) Friday Emma and Johan came over after school and brought me some French candy to try. They had gummy dolphins that were really good, some things that were like if they packaged Starbursts like they package Tootsie Rolls, and a chocolate bars that were nougat and caramel with hazelnuts inside. They also had a lot of stuff that had a mousse or marshmallow-like texture, which I could eat, but I wouldn't go out of my way for, and they had black licorice wheels, and giant jelly beans. There were bars of coconut covered in chocolate, and to finish it all off, they brought some Skittles. A lot of the stuff (like almost half) they brought was Haribo, which I guess makes sense because Haribo is a German company, but I found interesting none the less. After my friends left I packed up a suitcase, and after dinner my host mom, Frédéric and I left top go back to Besse (the skiing town), and we didn't get there until about 12:30am that night. Saturday we got up and went snowboarding in the afternoon. Me and my host mom got a teacher to show us for two hours, which was really helpful, but I ended up falling and hurting my wrist and she really hurt her thumb, so after the class we went back to the place we are staying and ate a late lunch and relaxed a while. Afterwards, Frédéric went back to go snowboarding (because he didn't go when me and my host mom went earlier because there was a problem with our water he stayed to fix). I probably should have gone with him, but we had to buy the tickets ahead, and I didn't know if my wrist would be better (which it mostly was), plus I would have been alone on the slope (because clearly he wanted to do something a little harder than the bunny hill) and I wasn't sure I was entirely comfortable being on the slope alone at that point, being that I'm still pretty bad, and should something happen I would be in trouble, being that I still don't completely speak the language (especially when I'm nervous or scared) Sunday was even more fun though. We got up and had a big breakfast, then went to the slopes in the early afternoon. I snowboarded for about 3 1/2 hours and had so much fun. I started to get used to going down the hill, and by the end I had pretty good control over my board. I ended up staying on the bunny hill the whole time, because by the time I was ready for more we had lost Frédéric and my host mom wanted someone who was better at snowboarding to go with us, because she had never been on a real hill either and didn't want to be responsible for me on top of trying to get down the hill herself. It was so much fun though. I really want to continue learning when I get home, and apparently I surprised both my host mom and Frédéric by how fast I learned. After we left the slopes, we just packed up our stuff and headed home, so there is not much to talk about there. I hope everyone had a good week, and I can't wait to see you all soon!

[orbemnews]

Big Candy is Angry At first glance, the Skittles package appears to be just like the one sold in the candy aisle of a supermarket: It has block letters filled in with white, a flowing rainbow and a red candy that replaces the dot above the letter “i.” A closer look reveals some small differences: a background pattern of small, stylized marijuana leaves; a warning label; and numbers that reveal the amount of THC, the intoxicating substance in cannabis, in each piece of candy. The images are included in a lawsuit that the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, owned by the candy behemoth Mars Inc., filed in May against five companies for selling cannabis-infused edibles that look like our old friends Skittles, Starburst and Life Savers. Though the suit focuses on intellectual property rights, the plaintiffs also argue that the copycat products could lead people, particularly children, to mistakenly ingest drugs. A spokeswoman for Mars Inc. wrote in an email that the company is “deeply disturbed” by the products. America is at an interesting crossroads: one where Big Candy, vilified in the wellness era as a primary source of refined sugar, has become an unlikely sheriff in the Wild West of recreational marijuana consumption roamed by pandemic-stressed adults. In recent years, lawsuits similar to the one filed by Wrigley have been brought by the Hershey Company (against TinctureBelle for products resembling Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Heath bars, Almond Joy bars and York peppermint patties), Mondelez International (against a company hawking Stoney Patch Kids) and Ferrara Candy Company (against a store selling Medicated Nerds Rope). These lawsuits have all been settled, with the smaller companies agreeing to halt production and sales of the offending products. Many public health officials fret that without proper regulation, accidental ingestion cases will continue to rise among children as the availability of edibles grows. Some poison control centers have already observed this trend in their data. For example, there were 122 cases of exposure to THC for children under 5 in Washington State in the first nine months of 2020, compared to 85 for the same time period in 2019. The most common side effects reported included vomiting, lethargy and chest pain. While many edible companies operating in states where medical or recreational cannabis is legal strive to comply with their local regulations, the illegal market is still thriving. “When companies like these create headlines for doing what we’ve purposely avoided at Wana, I feel anger and frustration,” said Joe Hodas, the chief marketing officer at Wana Brands, a Colorado company that sells cannabis-infused products. A recent review of the websites belonging to defendants in the Wrigley suit turned up cannabis-infused offerings like Stoner Patch Dummies, the Worlds Dankest Gushers, Gasheads Xtremes Sourfuls, Trips Ahoy, Buttafingazzz and Caribo Happy Cola. “The situation has become more and more egregious,” said Christopher Gindlesperger, a spokesman for the National Confectioners Association, a trade organization in D.C. with 350 members, including Mars Inc., Hershey’s, Ferrara and Mondelez. “The cannabis companies cannot and should not be allowed to tarnish existing brands at will. It creates consumer confusion.” Discreet Little Treats A majority of states now allow the use of medical marijuana (Alabama just joined the list), and 18 of them, including New York, have legalized recreational marijuana as well. Though sales in New York are not expected to begin until 2022 at the earliest, businesses are rushing to grab real estate and prepare for the market’s opening. Some are already selling Delta-8-THC, derived from hemp, in candy form. The spread of legalization has brought more players and consumers into the edibles market. “Edibles are easy. They’re portable. You don’t have to find a space to step aside and smoke,” said Sean Arnold, a founder of Terradigm Consulting, which advises cannabis companies on licensing, infrastructure and product development. Edibles have come a long way from the days of pot brownies, when half a pastry could lead to hours of debilitated function or to nothing at all. “Ten years ago it was the luck of the draw if you bought a brownie,” said Henry Wykowski, a lawyer who has focused on cannabis law for 17 years. “You didn’t know where you would wind up.” Today, licensed manufacturers are required by states to test their products for potency and to label packages with the amount of THC in each dose, and in the entire package. Some edibles companies make products with small amounts of THC, allowing the inexperienced to experiment with dosages. The accessibility of edibles and the discretion they afford has made them the fastest-growing category in cannabis, according to Surfside, a cannabis data-analytics company in New York. Surfside estimates that edibles have outpaced the growth of the rest of the cannabis market by 29 percent in the last three months compared with the same period in 2020. Mr. Wykowski said that transgressions that may have escaped the notice of large corporations like Mars or Hershey’s in the past are on their radar today “because cannabis is big business now.” He teaches a course on cannabis law at University of California’s Hastings College of the Law, and one of the sessions deals with laws around likenesses of other products. “Five or 10 years ago when cannabis was starting to take off, it was a joke to have something like Cap’n Punch, a cereal that’s infused,” Mr. Wykowski said. “But the industry has matured, and the people who know what they’re doing no longer engage in that kind of conduct.” Nonetheless, he regularly works with edibles companies that receive cease-and-desist letters from candy corporations. Most of these cases do not reach the courts. “Ninety percent of the time people will look at the letter and stop,” Mr. Wykowski said. Most legal cannabis companies strive to follow regulations closely. Lightshade, which runs nine dispensaries in the Denver area, has an eight-person compliance and auditing team led by Charisse Harris. Ms. Harris said that there are four checkpoints at which a product is assessed, and that every week, her auditors do random checks in the stores. Some red flags include products that feature any iteration of the word “candy” (for example, “kandy” or “candie”), and ones that do not come in packaging that meets state requirements around child safety, Ms. Harris said. “I say no a lot,” she added. Compliance becomes more complicated for companies operating in different states, since there are no federal regulations around cannabis. “In Florida, our packaging is black-and-white, and there are no images,” Mr. Hodas said of Wana, which operates in 11 states and in Canada. The gummies are a plain off-white color. In Colorado, on the other hand, the Wana container has a picture of pink watermelon slices and the gummies are a rich coral hue. There are three main aspects of a candy that can be protected by trademark and copyright laws, said Nancy J. Mertzel, a lawyer who specializes in intellectual property law. Take Hershey’s Kisses. “You have the name Kisses, which is a trademark, the shape of the candy itself, which is both a trademark and trade dress, and the packaging, which is protected by copyright,” Ms. Mertzel said. Ms. Mertzel said other possible intellectual property protections include patents — for example, Mars has sought patents for its chocolate, which is more resistant to melting than other formulations — and trade-secret laws. The most famous example of a trade secret is the Coca-Cola formula; another is Hellmann’s mayonnaise. The case Wrigley has brought against the cannabis copycats, Ms. Mertzel said, is straightforward. “I certainly understand Wrigley’s concerns about having its intellectual property used by a third party, and those concerns are exacerbated when it’s for a product that children really shouldn’t be getting,” Ms. Mertzel said. She compared the public health concerns at stake to those that were widely discussed when the tobacco industry used cartoons to target children in the 1960s. Even the Flintstones were in on it, with Fred and Barney promoting Winston cigarettes in an infamous commercial spot. Child-Proofing Cannabis Andrew Brisbo, the executive director of the Marijuana Regulatory Agency in Michigan, said that preventing youth access to cannabis is one of the primary functions of the program he oversees. And edibles are top of mind. “When we look at accidental consumption, edibles are a primary issue,” Mr. Brisbo said. “A young person won’t accidentally smoke a marijuana cigarette.” Gillian Schauer, a public health and policy consultant who has worked with a number of states on cannabis policy issues, said there are two potential concerns with edibles from a public health policy perspective: overconsumption and accidental consumption. Because edibles can take a while to kick in, people sometimes rush to eat more without waiting for the first effects. Some inexperienced users do not know what amount of THC they should consume and are not educated on the potential effects of cannabis. A low-dose amount is considered 1 to 2 milligrams of THC, but effects vary based on many factors, like body weight and how much food the consumer ate that day. Accidental consumption can affect anyone, but, Dr. Schauer said, “it has primarily impacted children because they can confuse cannabis edible products with other edible products, because most edibles look like candy or cookies or cake.” She pointed to reports compiled by poison control centers in Colorado and Washington, the two earliest states to legalize recreational cannabis use, in 2012. Between 2014 and 2018, annual calls to the Washington Poison Center about children under 5 being unintentionally exposed to cannabis nearly tripled, rising from 34 to 94. In 2017, Washington State began requiring that all edibles have a logo stating “Not for Kids” (not that this will mean much to a 2-year-old). In Colorado, edibles are the leading method by which children under 5 accidentally consume cannabis. In 2019, in Colorado, 108 people under the age of 19 were accidentally exposed to cannabis. In 2011, the year before the state legalized recreational use, that number was 16. Like Washington, Colorado now requires packaging of edibles to include a warning symbol. The state also bans the use of the word “candy” on any marijuana packaging, and the sale of edibles that look like people, animals or fruit. Dr. Schauer said other ways to reduce the risks of accidental ingestion include mandating childproof packaging, requiring that each edible item in a package is individually wrapped, limiting the potency of each individual edible, and educating consumers who live with children on how to store their cannabis products. Making packages that will not catch the eye of a child is important, she said. In Canada, for example, where cannabis is legal, federal law requires packaging to have a uniform color and a smooth texture, and not to have cutout windows, scents, sounds or inserts (among other requirements). Despite the stringency of Canada’s laws, as recently as mid-May, a child was hospitalized in the province of New Brunswick after eating Stoneo cookies that were made to look like Oreos, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In America, state laws are far less strict; for the most part, they prohibit the inclusion of cartoon characters and make general statements about how the packaging should not appeal to a child. “The risks can be much more limited than we’ve seen them be so far,” Dr. Schauer said. Mr. Hodas has three children, aged 12, 17 and 19. He has been in the cannabis industry for more than seven years. When he has products at home, he keeps them secure in bags made by StashLogix. It may not slow down a motivated 15-year-old, but it will stop a toddler, he said. “If you have it locked up, and you keep in a place where they can’t reach it or see it, that’s the best way to prevent ingestion,” Mr. Hodas said. To parents of a certain age, the situation may bring to mind the 1983 public service announcement “We’re Not Candy,” in which a barbershop quartet of singing pills on television advises children “to have a healthy fear of us.” That the products now under scrutiny are a form of candy, just enhanced — and that no one is watching the same screen anymore — makes it difficult to imagine a marijuana meme so memorable. Source link Orbem News #angry #Big #Candy