Blumenthal Proposes Ban On Pot-Flavored Candy

HARTFORD (AP) — A lollipop flavored with hemp to taste like marijuana is leaving a bad taste in the mouths of some state officials.

Though the candy’s wrapper boasts it is “highly addictive,” it does not include the chemical that creates a drug-induced high. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he wants to propose legislation to ban the candy from being sold in Connecticut.

“They send a perilous and pernicious message that marijuana is fun and commonplace. They should go the same way of candy cigarettes: they should be banned,” he said.

The lollipops have created controversy elsewhere. Chicago’s City Council passed a law banning the sale of the candy. A New York City councilwoman wants to hold hearings on the candy, and a suburb in Atlanta passed a resolution opposing them.

Pressure has prompted at least one manufacturer of the candy to stop distributing them. Steven Trachtenberg, president of ICUP Inc, said the company stopped sending shipments of “Pot Suckers” to an adult novelty store.

“Based on the controversy, it’s not that important to us,” he said.

Tom Durkin, an attorney for California-based Chronic Candy, which sells hemp-flavored lollipops and gumdrops, said that politicians and others opposing the candy are simply trying to gain attention. He said the product was not marketed to children.