At their last formal meeting before Halloween, held Tuesday, some of North Carolina's top elected officials were feeling spooked by a potential threat to trick-or-treaters: THC-laced candies, cookies and other treats whose packaging mimicks well-known brands.
THC is legal, in small amounts, in North Carolina. The chemical can be found in illegal marijuana as well as in legal hemp. But even products with low enough levels of THC to be legal still shouldn't be given to children, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall said Tuesday.
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Marshall's office has made this same push for the past three years — not only to warn parents but also to use an anti-counterfeiting task force she leads to try to target businesses that are selling the sneaky snacks.
Marshall said her anti-counterfeiting task force, working with local law enforcement around the state, has succeeded in seizing $750,000 worth of THC-infused edibles that "copy well-known brands — deceptive packaging at its worst — and are designed to appeal to children."
She even brought samples of some of what her agents seized, to pass out to the other elected officials at Tuesday's Council of State meeting to inspect, noting the drug-themed puns.
"It's 'Stoneo,' with a picture of an Oreo on it," Marshall said as she passed them around the table. "For the logo for Nabisco, it's 'Dabisco.' The problem is, these are geared toward children. It's an adult product."
She noted a recent case in Fayetteville where middle schools passed around THC-laced gummies on a bus, leading to some getting sick. But that's far from the only case in North Carolina, she said.
"This appeals to children, and around Halloween we really, really try to let people know about this," Marshall said.
Fellow Democratic leader Attorney General Jeff Jackson lauded Marshall's work and said it's also a top concern for his office — and for him as a dad.
Jackson noted that the GOP-led state legislature has so far not signed off on efforts to put any age restriction on THC products, despite efforts from him and others to do so. His 10-year-old son could easily, and legally, walk into a corner store and buy these exact products with no trouble, Jackson said.
"I have parents in my ear all the time asking why this is legal," Jackson said. "... My son here can go into any of these shops and buy anything. And this stuff is being marketed to him. It's clearly overdue for the state taking some action."
Earlier this year Democratic Gov. Josh Stein formed a cannabis task force, which recommended that the state legislature legalize marijuana while also regulating both marijuana and other THC-infused products to make sure only adults can buy them.
Several high-ranking Republican lawmakers are on his task force, but the legislature hasn't taken action yet on those or other proposals.