Cannabis packaging requirements bill 'still a success' after block

House Bill 157 on cannabis packaging requirements was blocked recently by the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on a 3-3 vote. Andrea Reeb, the lead sponsor for the bill, said it was still a success, however.

According to the New Mexico Legislature, the bill provides language concerning new requirements for allowable and prohibited types of cannabis product packaging and labeling to better protect children. This includes:

• Requiring all cannabis product packaging to be opaque;

• Prohibiting packaging and labeling from mimicking packaging and labeling of products that are safe for child consumption;

Reeb said some packaging has mimicked brands like Fruity Pebbles cereal and Sour Patch Kids candy, which can make the appearance more appealing to younger children.

According to the Department of Health, “multiple states have experienced increases in children consuming cannabis edibles. “In 2020, more than 70 percent of calls related to marijuana edibles to the Poison Control Center involved children under the age of 5.” Consumer Alert, NY Attorney General, Letticia James.

The bill also includes other language such as:

• Prohibiting packages or labels that use cartoons, symbols, or images that include the likeness of cartoon characters used for marketing to children. The bill also imposes a rule that cannabis packaging cannot include depictions of celebrities or celebrity likenesses that are commonly used to market to minors; and

• Requiring all products to include a warning in a pictorial form that demonstrates the cannabis or cannabis product should not be consumed by minors.

“We’re having so many kids mistake something they can eat. And then they’re getting really sick and have to be taken to the hospital,” Reeb said. She said this has been a problem across all schools. “The intent was to basically get it in a package where, you know, it might have a warning on there, but they (kids) couldn’t see in there.”

Reeb said the bill went through the first committee with no problems but didn’t get through the second committee. This is because of certain cannabis regulations. Reeb said, “There’s rules that also regulate cannabis packaging, and they felt it should go through that and not a statute.”

However, Reeb said she was able to speak with the regulator on the floor, and he said it could be put in a statute for another bill in discussion. “Now my bill is actually in another bill’s legislation as part of a package deal,” Reeb said.

Because of this, she said it was still a success even though it was blocked by the second committee.

According to the New Mexico Legislature, from March 2022 to November 2022, there were a total of 178 Cannabis-Related Calls to the New Mexico Poison Control Center. 50 percent of the calls (89 calls) were for pediatric cases ages 10 years and younger (New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center). Additionally, cannabis related calls have increased 340.48%, from 42 calls in 2003 to 185 calls in 2021.

Reeb said, “This is a common problem across the state that then the nurses and the staff were having at the schools and were having to spend their time dealing with the situation versus you know, dealing with what they needed to be dealing with.”

The effective date of this bill would be August 1, 2023.