Cannabis-laced snacks that mimic popular brand names — including “Trips Ahoy!” and “Double Stuf STONEO” — are being hawked to kids and should be banned by the state Health Department, Nassau County elected officials said at a press conference Wednesday.
The products, which are currently legal under the state’s medicinal marijuana program, contain delta-8 THC and were being sold as of Wednesday at a store in Long Beach, said State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, D-Long Island.
“It is also being marketed aggressively to kids,” Kaminsky tweeted.
Kaminsky was joined by other local lawmakers and Nassau County Executive Laura Curran in calling for a ban on the natural hemp extract that’s being sold legally despite slight chemical differences from delta-9, the principal psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
“Yet, due to Delta-8 THC being naturally found in hemp, retailers have exploited this loophole since hemp is not illegal,” Kaminsky, Curran and Assemblywomen Judy Griffin and Missy Miller wrote in a letter to Health Commissioner Howard Zucker obtained by The Post. “This means that many unregulated e-cigarette stores and ‘health products’ retailers sell products containing Delta-8 THC.”
The products often “clearly” target children, the concerned officials said, noting a shop in Long Beach that sells products appearing to look like traditional favorites like Chips Ahoy! and Double Stuf Oreo — but pack much more than just chocolate goodness.
“New York is also still working on creating a state-licensed and state-regulated adult use marijuana industry, which includes specific provisions limiting youth access,” the letter continued. “Our new state law even requires the new regulations to look at rules restricting marketing and advertising to youth.”
The unregulated hemp compound, however, remains legal, despite being “so similar” to marijuana, according to the elected officials calling for strict regulations banning the sale of products containing delta-8.
“DOH must also clarify CBD retailers may not sell any products in New York that contain Delta-8, whether or not the product uses synthetic or natural occurring Delta-8,” the letter concluded. “If something still poses a risk to consumers, especially children, then its production method should not matter.”
A clerk at Dr. Nature Rx on Park Avenue in Long Beach told The Post Thursday the store stopped selling the cannabis-extract cookies and knew no other locations nearby that had them.
Most people contacted by The Post said they didn’t care about the cookies since recreational marijuana was legalized in New York state in March. One man was upset, however, that they were being sold next to a temple.
“Terrible!” a 78-year-old landlord named Arthur said. “Terrible! Selling pot cookies next to temple, disgrace! Two weeks ago the owner said he wasn’t doing anything wrong, only adults, showing ID. He stopped. It’s nonsense.”
Another man, Jonathan Charm, 69, didn’t understand what all the fuss was about, saying he’s tried products containing delta-8, but not the brands cited by the Long Island officials.
“Cuomo made it legal,” Charm told The Post. “Who cares about this stuff? It doesn’t really do anything. I have teenage kids. The packaging is really clever and kids in a house could get their hands on it, but [they don’t] do anything.”
The state Health Department, meanwhile, is holding a 45-day comment period — until July 19 — to review a ban on delta-8 and other cannabis-related products.
“After such time, the Department will assess all comments and if no further changes are necessary, adopt the regulations as written, at which time the prohibition on products manufactured with Delta 8 created through isomerization will be immediately effective,” department officials told The Post in a statement Thursday.
