Marijuana-shaped candy used for campaign
Posted: 10.11.2011 at 12:11 PM
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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- From candy cigarettes to energy drink-infused alcoholic beverages, there are several products that have come under fire for targeting young people.
 
Now marijuana-shaped candy can be added to that list. 
 
The "Pot Head Ring Pots," "Pot Head Lollipops" and candy gummies shaped like marijuana leaves are sold in about 1,000 stores around the country, including in Colorado Springs. Though they do not contain anything illegal, some parents think they should be pulled off the shelves.
 
"I think it is outrageous, and I think it is inappropriate for a political agenda to be pushed into childrens' faces," Ashley Pulsipher, a mother of two, said. "I don't want my kids to have it."
 
The candy is distributed by the novelty supply company Kalan LP in Pennsylvania. They are sold in bright green wrapping with words like "legalize" and "pot head" in bold print. A drawing of a young person smoking is also featured on the labels.
 
Company president Andrew Kalan told Fox News the candy promotes the legalization of marijuana. He also said it sells pretty well and has heard little complaints about the product.
 
Legalize2012.com, a legalize marijuana campaign based in Denver, said they do not support the use of candy to encourage making the drug legal.
 
"Marketing tactics that are targeted toward children to use an illegal plant are pretty much reprehensible," Laura Kriho, director of Legalize2012.com, said. "Retailers need to treat these products as adult novelty products and not have them on display where children can see them or purchase them."
 
However, some parents said the candy is not all that bad and could be used to teach their children about marijuana.
 
"If my kid came home with something like that, I'd talk to them about it," Naomi Smith, a Colorado Springs mother, said. "I think the responsibility lies in the hands of the parents."
 
In the Fox News report, Kalan said the product is a response to what the marketplace wants.
 
"It's just candy," he said. "It's sour apple flavor, it doesn't claim to be pot in disguise or anything like that."