The Oregon Health Authority is working on regulations to control the sale of edible marijuana products and ensure that packaging is child-resistant.

It’s a particular problem with lollipops, cookies and other treats that include marijuana but aren’t visibly different from snacks kids routinely consume.

In Oregon, only medical marijuana sales are legal, but those treats sure don’t look like medicine. The state is wise to take steps to use packaging and labeling to protect children — and adults, too — from consuming marijuana without knowing it.

In Colorado, where the nation’s first legal recreational sales of marijuana started this year, edibles have caused problems for kids and adults alike. The body responds differently to eaten vs. smoked marijuana in ways that make it difficult to control the impact, even for adults who know what they are consuming. For kids, access is easy when adults don’t secure their marijuana purchases.

Oregon’s Legislature passed Senate Bill 1531 in its 2014 session to allow local governments to regulate new dispensaries selling medical marijuana, and to allow the state to regulate packaging, among other items. The OHA is taking comments until Aug. 22 on its proposed regulations to carry out the law.

On Wednesday, the Deschutes County Commission endorsed plans by the county’s Public Health Advisory Board to submit a comment saying: “We, as a Public Health Advisory Board, share a general consensus that strict regulations be in place in order to prevent marijuana-based products from being sold by medical marijuana dispensaries that are packaged or marketed in a manner that is attractive to youth.”

We agree. The law says it’s medicine, so package it like medicine. Require child-resistant prescription containers for all marijuana, whether it’s in leaf-form or added to lollipops or brownies. The dangers are substantial, especially for kids, who deserve protection from risky marketing and confusing packaging.