Legal vs. Moral: Candy-Flavored Edibles

December 08, 2022

Dear Neighbors and Friends,

We recently received a comment on our web site from an anonymous neighbor, whose name is "SF resident," and who seems to have misconceptions about our FOPSWP movement. Therefore, we'd like to take the time to clear up those misconceptions below.

SF Resident comments in blue font. FOPSWP comments in red font.

I suggest the people behind this effort take the time to visit other dispensaries in the city and familiarize themselves with the operations. Because of local ordinances, dispensaries are some of the most clean, well-supervised, well-lit, well-secured businesses in SF.

We have indeed visited several dispensaries in the city, and we do not have an issue with how they are run or who runs them, but rather with what they are selling and to whom. None of the existing dispensaries we visited is in as child-centric an area as the one proposed for 18th & Taraval. The nature of this location makes us wonder whether the business is targeting not just adults but minors as well.

First, it seems the authors behind this effort are falling back on fear-mongering, and stereo-typing, rather than real-world logic. I've lived in this immediate neighborhood for more than 25 years and yes, there are some children in the neighborhood (no more or less than any other SF neighborhood), but how does a legal business impact the children? People don't leave "gummies" lying around on the ground. On the other hand, I do frequently see needles, half drunk bottles of booze and other dangerous items, but what does "gummies" have to do with it?

Children and teens are the unfortunate target of products, such as gummies, fruit chews, chocolates, and other candy-flavored edibles. This is not fear-mongering; it is a fact. Substances such as marijuana, LSD, and heroin are classified as Schedule I substances by the federal government under the Controlled Substances Act, while substances such as alcohol and caffeine are not. Children are especially vulnerable to cannabis toxicity due to their smaller body size, and the fact that THC content in edibles is not carefully regulated or controlled as alcohol content is.

Having said that, younger children are more likely to ingest edible candies with THC, such as the fruit chews shown below, than to drink alcohol. There have been several incidents of children inadvertently consuming these edibles resulting in medical emergencies and even deaths. For example, earlier this month, at least 10 students from Van Nuys Middle School in California were treated for possible cannabis overdose.

Second, cannabis is now legal in most of the United States, just like alcohol. There was a liquor store on the opposing corner for at least 30 years and nobody had a problem with that - and by MANY studies, alcohol is more harmful and damaging than cannabis. So why not the same level of outrage for the liquor store?

Both alcohol and cannabis are harmful to the developing brain, which is why we want to keep these substances as far away from children as we can. Children are much more likely to consume candy-flavored THC products, however, than they are alcoholic beverages, which is the reason for the outrage over the Gold Mirror dispensary.

Third, there are many individuals who are prescribed cannabis for medicinal purposes and had those prescriptions long before recreational cannabis was legalized. Again, there is a Walgreens down the street that LEGALLY sells drugs. No protesting there?

We do not have a problem with selling drugs as people do need them. But children do not need to be exposed to drugs masquerading as candy. That is unethical -- plain and simple. The SF vape company JUUL was sued for hundreds of millions of dollars because they did the same thing with candy-flavored vape products as the dispensaries are now doing with edibles. Why the double standard?

Finally, if this supplemental (LEGAL) business allows the Gold Mirror to stay in business longer, who are you to thwart that?

We adore the Gold Mirror restaurant and want it to stay in business and thrive. But a dispensary is not the answer to the restaurant's financial woes for the reasons we explained above. Moreover, the dispensary, in our opinion, will actually hurt the restaurant business, because it will drive away concerned patrons, such as ourselves. Therefore, we are not thwarting the Gold Mirror's business, the owners are doing it to themselves.

The welfare of the children in the neighborhood is a red herring. If you were to use every single other dispensary in San Francisco as a test, you would see that they do not have any impact or effect on children. Please stop with the fear mongering.

How do you know there is no impact on children? Have you done research or are you a health professional? Please read about JUUL's fate. They marketed to minors and lied about the addictive nature of their product. In addition, there is really no scientific data to demonstrate the safety of cannabis for children and young adults, whereas there is abundant data to show that cannabis is highly addictive and harmful to brain development.