“Addiction-for-profit industries have always targeted young audiences. The younger the addict, the longer the cycle of addiction, the greater the profit,” said Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America (CWA), in her recent article in American Thinker titled “Targeting Kids for Addiction.” The marijuana industry has taken this marketing to another level by creating indistinguishable dupes of edible marijuana candies. This intentional marketing ploy has increased the reported cases of accidental consumption of cannabis edibles by children under age six by 1,375% within just five years. Even more disturbing is a recent warning from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that a new trend is brightly colored fentanyl pills that look like candy dubbed “rainbow fentanyl.”

This is a dangerous trend, and CWA is working with Members of Congress to criminalize the combination of controlled substances with marketing or packaging that appeals to children.