Left Coast Leads Fight Against Underage Marijuana Use

OCEANSIDE, Calif., Jan. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Oceanside, California marijuana manufacturer Left Coast Extracts is proud to be a leader and partner in preventing the sale of marijuana to minors.

Left Coast has taken several steps to ensure that marijuana is not sold to minors in the dispensaries where their products or sold. These steps include working exclusively with sellers who check for identification at the door and at the point of sale, market solely to adults, limit use of candy flavors for THC products. Left Coast has also worked to create a brand identity meant to appeal to adults.

California law makes it a felony to sell marijuana to a minor. Those accused are not able to use the defense that they did not know the buyer was a minor, so dealers depend on strict enforcement of state identification requirements with every sale.

In the case of any dispensary licensed by the state, this felony would be accompanied with stiff financial penalties and potentially the loss of their dealer license. These stiff penalties mean that dispensaries are heavily invested in being partners in preventing sales to youth.

However, the penalties are not the main driver of their vigilance, says Left Coast's Coltin Barody. "We don't want minors using our product, period. There is a large legal market of responsible adults that we have only begun to tap. We have nothing to gain by selling to minors."

Illegal marijuana sales to minors are all happening through the marijuana black market. And while California's legalization has cut into the black market, it has not eliminated it. One estimate in 2018 suggested that only half of the marijuana market has come above ground.

Importantly, Left Coast and other marijuana manufacturers and sellers have also worked to reduce the appeal to minors. Barody notes that the tobacco market was notorious for enticing minors to buy their product by using cartoon mascots, offering children's-themed flavors, and even putting cigarettes next to candy on the shelves, or at eye level behind them. You won't find any advertising aimed at children where Left Coast products are sold.

Left Coast joins manufacturers and dispensaries around the country in taking pride in their efforts to eliminate sales to minors. In one case, undercover agents in Oregon recorded that sellers there checked for ID in 100% of attempted underage purchases. Similarly, agents in a joint sting in Colorado and Washington found universal ID checks prevented underage purchases in essentially every undercover attempt.

"We commit every day to doing everything in our power to make sure our products don't fall into the hands of a minor," Barody asserted. "While the tobacco industry would wink and nod about minors smoking cigarettes, we have taken a different approach. From the beginning we have been partners in preventing marijuana use by minors, and have helped create tight regulations to prevent it."

The marijuana black market remains the only way that minors can get marijuana. State and national enforcement efforts continue throughout California and the United States to shrink black market marijuana sales.

Media Contact: Coltin Barody, [email protected]

SOURCE Left Coast Extracts

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