If there’s one thing kids love, it’s candy. And if there’s one day kids love—besides Christmas—it’s Halloween. Unfortunately, however, with marijuana commercialization comes the very real danger of kids getting poisoned with THC-laced candies they received from a stranger.
That’s why SAM Minnesota wrote this crucial letter to the editor appearing in the Minnestota Star Tribune: Thanks to Ken Winters, Maria Poirier, and George Realmuto for their work.
This danger is not just salient on Halloween. Kids are being accidentally poisoned from extremely potent edibles every day. The state of Minnesota is a hot spot in this regard. According to the Minnesota Center for Health Statistics, 99 children under age 5 were treated in hospitals for cannabis poisoning in 2023, and 122 were treated in 2024.
Is Minnesota doing enough to protect kids? The answer is no.
There are next steps that the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management can and should enact to protect our kids from marijuana poisoning: Lowering THC limits of marijuana edibles per package; mandating child-resistant packaging, and requiring retailers to give consumers unbiased health warning information at the point of sale.
All beyond necessary. So kudos to Winters, Poirier, and Realmuto for taking on this fight.