Missouri, one of the most recent states to legalize cannabis and begin sales, is taking a different approach when it comes to cannabis packaging, acting as another test state of sorts in taking an additional measure to keep cannabis products away from young people.
Mirroring similar movements pushing for plain, or limited, packaging on tobacco products to make them less appealing to young people, Missouri will similarly embrace plain packaging for cannabis products to see if it creates a similar effect.
The provision was included in the constitutional amendment Missouri voters passed in November 2022, deeming that labels and packaging for cannabis-related products “shall not be made attractive to children.” In general, this means that labels and packaging for cannabis-related products must contain limited colors and can’t resemble candy.
The constitution also forbids cannabis facilities from selling cannabis edibles in shapes or packages that are attractive to children or easily confused with candy that does not contain cannabis.
Missouri joins a number of other states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey, in enacting the plain packaging regulations among its adult-use cannabis market. In Missouri, the packaging requirements will go into effect on July 30 along with a number of new cannabis regulation rules.
According to Amy Moore, director of Missouri’s cannabis regulation under the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the approach is meant to ensure “the health and safety information is the focus of the packaging,” which innately also diminishes the appeal to children.
“This approach to packaging is familiar to all of us,” Moore said during a legislative committee hearing in May. “You think about the cereal aisle versus tobacco packaging or over-the-counter medicines… I can tell you my five-year-old’s favorite color right now is rainbow.”
According to Julie Weber, director of the Missouri Poison Center, Missouri has seen an increase in child poisoning cases involving cannabis edibles since recreational cannabis was legalized in the state; children ages 5 and under were involved in seven cases in 2018 and 125 cases in 2022, Missouri Independent reports.
Those businesses found in violation of the rule could be fined up to $5,000 and lose their business license.
The Missouri Trade Association already barked back earlier this year, arguing that cannabis companies have invested millions of dollars in packaging design — not to attract kids but to “effectively advertise and promote marijuana product sales.” Additionally, they argued that Missouri law already requires child-resistant containers.
Moore, however, argued that the companies already knew it was coming, since the provision was included in Amendment 3.
The experiment that awaits is whether these measures actually create change when it comes to children accessing cannabis products. Even more complicated, each state approaches its respective plain packaging requirements in different ways.
Connecticut requires that all packaging be “entirely and uniformly one color,” incorporating no information, print, embossing, debossing, graphic or hidden feature, other than the required labeling. Massachusetts requires plain packaging prohibiting the use of bright colors; New Jersey requires a single color for packaging and allows different-colored logos or symbols, so long as the logo is no larger than one inch by one inch.
Missouri initially only allowed one color but has since changed the rule to allow “limited colors.”
One state we can turn to for some reference is Hawaii. The state has yet to legalize recreational cannabis, but it has required plain packaging for medical cannabis products since 2015, when it was first legalized. Hawaii requires no color on packaging, and according to Michele Nakata, chief of Hawaii’s medical cannabis office, it’s made a difference.
“We have very low rates of unintended poisonings among kids and adults,” Nakata told the Independent earlier in June. “We do think that the plain packaging does help with that.”
Canada similarly mandated plain packaging for cannabis products when the country moved forward with the adult-use market in 2018. A government survey released last year found that accidental cannabis consumption among children was “not reportable due to small counts that did not allow for an estimate.”
Though it may take some time for the state and its cannabis companies to transition to the new regulations, only time will tell how effective they are and whether other states may follow in similar footsteps.
