States across the U.S. are regulating cannabis products, especially edibles. One of the biggest trends in these regulations is childproof packaging.

Let’s talk about childproof packaging and how it looks for your business.

Child resistant packaging plays an important role in preventing children from accessing products that we don’t want them to have access to. That’s probably pretty obvious, and I think most of us can agree that cannabis products are products we don’t want children having access to, especially intoxicating cannabis and cannabis products like regulated cannabis or intoxicating hemp products that you can now find in most of the United States.

Safety isn’t the only factor when talking about cannabis infused food and childproof packaging.

You need to think about what kind of branding can you put on the package? How much space are you going to have for your branding, how much space you’re going to have for the other disclaimers and things that you need to put on there. The cost of childproof packaging, the environmental sustainability of the packaging that you’re using, all of these are factors to be considered as well when you’re choosing when and if to implement childproof packaging and what kind your implementing childproof packaging can look like a lot of different things.

Different types of options for childproof packaging

Most of us are familiar with the pharmaceutical kind where we get on most of our drugs, where you push and turn the top. Very common childproof packaging you see now in the cannabis space, especially in the regulated cannabis space. There’s also the Ziploc, not the brand Ziploc, but the actual type of bag that has a zip and a lock on the top.

We see these a lot with tide pods or other types of detergent pods. There’s also something that’s been very popular with retailers in the in the regulated cannabis space, which is the white opaque exit bag. Essentially. It’s just where all retailers had to put anything that was produced in a Ziploc bag that was white and opaque. There’s also plastic containers that have multiple points of pressure required in order to open them, whether it’s a pop top or a pole.

So all of these are different types of options for childproof packaging. Some states just require childproof packaging. They don’t go beyond that in terms of the degree or level of packaging or a specific type. Some states are very particular. For example, California only recognizes three types of childproof packaging, and whatever your category of product is determines what kind of packaging you have to have some people look to instead of having these types of childproof packaging. What they’ll do is they will, especially in the gummy or edible space, they will individually wrap every edible and then put all of the individually wrapped edibles into a larger container that has some sort of child resistance or child proofing on it.

Consider going ahead and implementing it in your product line

Whether or not your state requires childproof packaging, I would encourage you to consider going ahead and implementing it in your product line. Why? One we’re seeing this is a growing trend. A lot of people agree that it’s a very common sense need in this space so that we can prevent little ones from getting a hold of something that they shouldn’t get a hold of to. You don’t want to wait until you have to do that kind of thing. It can be expensive.

It can slow down production time. You’ve got a source. It maybe it affects some of your distribution agreements, maybe not. But there are other things to consider. You’re probably going to have to redesign your label. You don’t want to wait until you have to. Maybe you won’t be in as good of a space as you are and say right now to make those kinds of adjustments.

So if it’s something that you think you’re going to have to do, and again, it’s a growing trend, so a lot of us may end up having to do it. Do it when it makes sense. Go ahead and start look. Go ahead and start working on your sourcing. Go ahead and start thinking about your packaging. Go ahead and start redesigning your label.

And don’t wait until you’ve got regulators bearing down your neck saying you can’t sell your product anymore unless it’s got this on it. And now you’re up against a deadline. I hear complaints that some people in the cannabis space, especially the intoxicating him space, feel like childproof packaging and other kinds of regulations like this that are becoming popular force cannabis into a category of of still being an illicit substance of still being a a street drug.

Medical marijuana is still illegal

But here’s the thing on the federal level for regulated cannabis. Medical marijuana is still illegal. It’s still a schedule one substance. Anything that is considered hemp isn’t. But a lot of those products, as we’ve discussed in many of my previous videos, living in gray space, intoxicating hemp products live in a gray space. And it’s very possible that they may ultimately be considered regulate the same as regulated cannabis.

Some states are already doing it or banning it altogether. So the truth of the matter is, in many ways, these products are still treated as illicit products. It’s the way it is. So we have to agree that it’s important for children not to get a hold of things that aren’t for them and that this product. Hemp, cannabis, whatever it may be, is going to come with commonsense regulations.

And wouldn’t we rather be ahead of them and be determining what they are then having to respond And on the back end, when maybe we’re not ready to or not capable to? So I would encourage you to consider child resistant packaging. I think everybody’s going to ultimately be required to do it, especially if you’re in the intoxicating space and if you need some help figuring out what kind of packaging is best for you.

If you’re thinking about labeling, compliance, any any of those components — give me a call and I can help you out.