BILL NUMBER: S3640

SPONSOR: MURRAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the cannabis law, in relation to warnings on retail
packaging of adult-use cannabis products; and to amend the penal law, in
relation to criminalizing certain violations of restrictions on the sale
of adult-use cannabis

 
PURPOSE:

This bill amends the method by which warning labels on edible cannabis
products may be displayed and criminalizes certain violations of
restrictions on the sale of adult-use cannabis.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1, subdivision 2, item (a): Adds the option of exceeding similar
federal requirements.

Section 1, subdivision 2, subparagraph (b): Adds specifics for the
              

placement and design of warnings indicating the item's nature as a
cannabis product.

Section 1, subdivision 3: Adds a requirement that all labels shall
include warnings to consumers to keep said cannabis products out of
reach of children and their intended minimum age use.

Section 1, subdivision 7: Adds the possibility of criminal prosecution
for improper packaging, sale, marketing, branding, advertising, label-
ing, or "possession by any licensee of any cannabis product not labeled
or offered in conformity with rules and regulations of the New York
State cannabis law.

Section 222.60 of the Penal Law, Criminal Sale of Cannabis in the First
Degree: Amended to create a Class D felony for any licensee to adver-
tise, deceptively advertise, brand, market, package, display, label,
offer for ingestion outside of packaging, or administer cannabis
products, including unconventional methods of administration or inges-
tion or edible consumption of cannabis products, in contravention of
section 81 of the cannabis law or rules and regulations promulgated by
the New York State Cannabis Control Board or Office of Cannabis Manage-
ment.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Edible cannabis products ("edibles") with high concentrations of THC are
frequently designed to deceptively appear like snack foods and candy
commonly marketed to young adults and children.

Packaging may be intentionally designed to be nearly identical to
commonly found name-brand goods, with only the label and graphic design
elements slightly changed. Their mistakable presentation has led the
Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to caution parents about these
misleading products. Popular THC-infused edible products found within
New York and across the United States include gummy bears, candy, baked
goods, snacks, sweetened beverages, and even coffee, and many contain
significant levels of THC. A child or person with a pre-existing health
condition who unintentionally ingests edibles can potentially experience
dangerous and uncontrollable side effects such as intoxication, altered
perception, anxiety, panic, paranoia, dizziness, and heart problems.

The most common overdose incidents among children involve ingestion of
edible cannabis products, and such incidents of overdoses are on the
rise according to the United States Department of Homeland Security.
More than 70 percent of calls in 2020 alone to the Poison Control Center
related to marijuana edibles involved children under the age of 5. In
the first half of 2021, the American Association of Poison Control
Centers reported that poison control hotlines received an estimated
2,622 calls for services related to young Children ingesting illegal
cannabis products. A study published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association (JAMA), JAM& Pediatrics, that investigated uninten-
tional exposures to marijuana in Colorado found packaging regulations
were not doing enough to keep kids safe. The study found that accidental
THC poisoning cases in children under age 9 continued to increase after
Colorado legalized marijuana use, even with packaging regulations.
Edible THC products were involved in more than half the cases.

The intention of the Office of Cannabis Management was to introduce
policies around safeguarding children from incidental or underaged
consumption of edibles, however, the statistics and overdoses paint a
different picture. This bill, seeking to amend the Cannabis Law and the
Penal Law, takes a multifaceted approach to addressing this crisis,
because although laws and regulations are currently in place, they do
not go nearly far enough nor do they encourage adherence as vigorously
as is necessary.

First, this bill would require that prior to delivery or sale at a
retailer, cannabis and cannabis products must be labeled according to
regulations and placed in a resealable, child-resistant package accompa-
nied by conspicuous warnings in large, bold-face, legible, unobscured,
and visible font contained either on the retail packaging, or if a
marketing layer is used, the marketing layer; and the majority of said
package shall depict that it is a cannabis product, including unconven-
tional methods of administration or ingestion or edible consumption of
cannabis products.

Second, this bill would require that all labels warning consumers of the
potential impacts on human health resulting from the consumption of said
cannabis products must warn consumers to keep said cannabis products out
of reach of children and that they are for use by persons 21 years of
age and older.

This bill would also require the packaging, sale, marketing, branding,
advertising, labeling or possession by any licensee of any cannabis
product not labeled or offered in conformity with rules and regulations
promulgated shall be grounds for criminal prosecution as provided in
article two hundred twenty-two of the penal law, in addition to the
imposition of a fine, and/or the suspension,' revocation or cancellation
of a license.

Lastly, this bill would make it a Class D Felony to advertise, decep-
tively advertise, brand, market, package, display, label, offer for
ingestion outside of packaging, or administer cannabis products, includ-
ing unconventional methods of administration or ingestion or edible
consumption of cannabis products, in contravention of section 81 of the
cannabis law or rules and regulations promulgated by the New York State
Cannabis Control Board or Office of Cannabis Management. In addition to
these legislative efforts, the Office of Cannabis Management must exer-
cise greater oversight because one life lost is one life too many and
one overdose is one overdose too many.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2024: S6107A - Referred to Investigations and Government Operations

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act will take effect immediately.