Edible packages (Photo: Detroit Public Schools Community District.)
The Detroit public school system is feeling the impact of the legalization of recreational marijuana.
School Superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti has sent a letter to state political leaders asking for help in pushing back on deceptive packaging of marijuana edibles that make them look like candy. He's also asking for funding for better detection systems for cannabis products like gummies and vape pens, Fox 2 reports.
"The trend is unacceptable and calls for immediate policy intervention," Vitti wrote in the letter. "A week of school rarely passes where a student is not taken to the hospital due to intentional or unintentional consumption of edibles."
"The enclosed image captures part of the problem - in some cases marijuana edibles are indistinguishable from regular candy brands, misleading our students and facilitating the ease of their distribution within our schools."
The letter was sent to leaders including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Mayor Mike Duggan, Chief James White and U.S. Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow.
From 2021-2023, the districtreported 1,735 instances involving marijuana compared to 289 between 2019-2021, Fox 2 reports.
