Legislation in California to ban the use of a large variety of images on the packaging of marijuana products has been passed by a key Senate committee, months after its unanimous passage through the state’s Assembly.
(Photo credit: Elsa Olofsson).
California Assembly Bill 1207, filed by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, has been passed by a 5 to 1 vote through the Senate Appropriations Committee. The measure was approved by the full Assembly, 61 to 0, in May. Although the measure is being dubbed as a bill to prevent marijuana products from appealing to children, in reality it would ban thousands of potential images that may or may not have any appeal to kids, including the image of any human, real or fictional.
The measure would prohibit products that are considered “attractive to children”, including “but not limited to, images of any of the following, except as part of required health warnings:
(A) Cartoons, toys, or robots.
(B) Any real or fictional humans.
(C) Any fictional animals or creatures.
(D) Fruits or vegetables, except when used to accurately describe ingredients or flavors contained in a product.”
“Attractive to children” would also include:
(2) Any likeness to images, characters, or phrases that are popularly used to advertise to children.
(3) Any imitation of candy packaging or labeling, or other packaging and labeling of cereals, sweets, chips, or other food products typically marketed to children.
(4) The terms “candy” or “candies” or variants in spelling such as “kandy” or “kandee.”
(5) Brand names or close imitations of brand names of candies, cereals, sweets, chips, or other food products typically marketed to children.
(6) Any other image or packaging that is easily confused with commercially available foods that do not contain cannabis and are typically marketed to children.
(7) Anything else that the department determines in regulation to be attractive to children.
(8) Anything else that is attractive to children in light of all relevant facts and circumstances.
Assembly Bill 1207 will need to be passed by the full Senate, with a vote of concurrence in the Assembly, before it can be sent to Governor Gavin Newsom for consideration. You can find its full text by clicking here.
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