Child Resistant Packaging

The History of Child Resistant Packaging

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The concept of child-resistant packaging emerged in the 1970s due to a significant number of accidents involving children accidentally ingesting harmful substances. In response to this growing concern, legislation was enacted in the United States requiring enhanced safety measures for medications and hazardous products.

Subsequently, the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA) was enacted by President Nixon. This legislation mandated that packaging for household products and medications incorporate improved safety features, leading to the invention of child-resistant packaging.

Compliance Deep Dive: Child-Resistant Packaging

The cannabis industry in the United States is governed by a myriad of laws, regulations, and ordinances. A common thread among all medicinal and recreational cannabis laws is the requirement for child-resistant (CR) packaging. While conversations about packaging aesthetics can continue indefinitely, child safety is a non-negotiable aspect.

How did CR packaging come about?

In light of a long history of incidents involving children accessing unsafe household products, Dr. Henri Breault developed the child-resistant locking closure for containers in the early 1960s. This innovation prompted the U.S. Congress to pass the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA) in 1970, spearheaded by Senator Frank E. Moss. This act granted the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission the authority to set regulations concerning consumer packaging, establishing a basis for child-resistant packaging regulations across the nation.

Although child-resistant closures are not foolproof, they have been shown to significantly reduce rates of childhood poisoning. Nevertheless, the Centers for Disease Control still report that over 300 children visit emergency rooms in the U.S. each day due to poisoning, with two fatalities arising from such incidents. Common household products, including cleaners, medications, and cannabis products, remain potentially dangerous to children. With the rise of medical prescriptions that include marijuana in various forms—such as concentrates, pre-rolls, and edibles—the risk of accidental ingestion has never been more pertinent to child safety.

How is this applied to cannabis products?

Now, considering cannabis, one may ask whether the legalization of medical marijuana has led to an increase in pediatric cannabis exposure cases. Research from the Regional Center for Poison Control and Prevention in Massachusetts sought to answer this question.

The study revealed 218 cannabis exposure-related calls to poison control centers in Massachusetts, accounting for 0.15% of all calls concerning children and teenagers. Importantly, the number of calls regarding singular cannabis exposure surged from 29 in the four years preceding the legalization to 69 in the four years following it.

The findings advocate for states that have liberalized marijuana legislation to consider tightening regulations that prevent unintentional exposure among young children and to bolster initiatives that deter its use among teenagers, especially concerning edible cannabis products and concentrated forms.

Thus, the packaging standards for pre-rolls, edibles, cannabis flowers, and concentrates align closely with established guidelines for food, pharmaceuticals, and other consumer goods.

2 main types of CR closures

Child-resistant packaging is specifically designed to minimize the chances of children accessing harmful materials. We will explore different types of child-resistant closures in the context of pre-roll packaging, while also noting that these mechanisms are applicable across all forms of cannabis packaging.

Child-resistant closures for cannabis pre-roll packaging necessitate two actions to open, making it challenging for children but manageable for adults. Regulations stipulate performance tests where actual children try to open the packages, while additional assessments are conducted to verify that older adults and individuals with disabilities can also open the same packages.

The two most common mechanisms seen are the Push Down & Turn and the Squeeze Lock Closures. For the Push Down & Turn type, there are typically two components, with a continuous-thread cap serving as the inner piece. Squeeze Lock closures involve a lid that is squeezed on either side to detach it from its set of tabs, such as those found in a single CR tube or a popularly-known “doob tube.”

Doob tubes offer CR simplicity.

Doob tubes represent single-use pre-roll containers designed to maintain the freshness and security of pre-rolls. These tubes utilize a Squeeze Lock closure, ensuring the cap is securely nested within the tube, posing significant difficulty for children while remaining easy for adults to open. To access the contents, one can simply squeeze the tube between two fingers, forcing the cap to pop up. An added feature includes a small plastic piece that keeps the lid attached for resealing purposes. The doob tube is prevalent in the pre-roll market, recognized for its affordability and effectiveness in child-resistant mechanisms, with diverse size and color options available for customization.

Super seals are a triple threat.

Super Seal pre-roll tubes offer a comprehensive solution, being child-friendly, tamper-evident, and airtight. The design of these pre-roll tubes is sleek and ergonomic, but the real strength lies in the cap's locking mechanism. As the cap is secured during production, it creates a simultaneous child-resistant, airtight, and tamper-evident seal, featuring a Push Down & Turn closure. Additionally, since certain states mandate that cannabis packaging must also be tamper evident, this type of tube proves to be an ideal match.

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