(NECN: Mike Cronin) - State lawmakers have moved to ban the sale of medical marijuana that's packaged to resemble candy. The measure was approved by the house on Tuesday night during a budget debate.
At first glance, they look like average candy bars. Look a little closer and what may appear to be a Milky Way is a Munchy Way, Crunch renamed Tri-Chrome Crunch.
“Buddahfinger. Instead of Butterfinger,” says Brian Holbrook.
“We took this product and banned it now before it can get here,” says Spencer Rep. Peter Durant.
Tuesday night, house lawmakers approved an amendment to the budget to outlaw sales of any medical marijuana product wrapped in packages looking like commercial candy.
“This bill does not say that we don't want medical marijuana in the form of a chocolate bar, but you can't put it in a package that looks like a commercially available product,” Rep. Durant says.
Last fall, state voters approved the use of medical marijuana. The department of public health is now looking at how to regulate it. Republican state representative Peter Durant says the likes of pot tarts are sold in states like California, where medical marijuana is legal. While the bars aren't currently available in Massachusetts, he says the house is being proactive.
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“I don't understand why you would need that unless you're trying to market it to children,” he says.
Holbrook thinks that’s crazy. He supports medical marijuana, but he says the packaging is misleading.
“I mean its medicine for most of us, but whether it should be packaged in this way to mislead people into thinking it’s something that it isn't? You know?”
“If it's a medicine then it should be in a medicine package. It shouldn't be in a food package like that. We don't put other medicines in food packages. I don't think we should put it in there either,” says Sue Gustafson.
Durant says the legislation now goes to the senate where he expects it will also be supported. For now, Keef Kat doesn't appear to have a bright future in Massachusetts.
“Once you see that picture, you say, my God, we can't have this,” Rep. Durant says. “And so we just took the lead on it.”
