JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri is banning the sale of drinks, candy and other foods made with hemp-derived intoxicating substances, Republican Gov. Mike Parson announced in an an executive order issued Thursday.

The ban kicks in Sept. 1.

Parson cited health concerns and lack of research on Delta-8 THC and similar unregulated CBD substances.

He also made clear that his order does not prohibit consumption of psychoactive hemp products. The rules “are not here to punish consumers,” Parson said.

“Our goal is to safeguard the health and safety of Missourians, especially the most vulnerable: our children,” he told reporters gathered in his Jefferson City Capitol building office.

CBD and similar compounds have boomed in popularity since the 2018 farm bill legalized hemp production, and are found in lotions, tinctures, candies, vapes and more.

Candies and drinks with hemp-derived intoxicants are sometimes used as alternatives to marijuana or alcohol. Recreational marijuana use is legal for adults ages 21 and older in Missouri.

While there is a lack of government regulation for the CBD-derived products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration did approve one drug that contains CBD in 2018 to help treat two rare seizure disorders.

Delta-8 THC is of particular concern, because of adverse side effects and because of how it is chemically manufactured.

Other states also ban or regulate delta-8 THC, though it is sold in many states due to a loophole in federal law.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Paula Nickelson said there have been reports of adults and children being hospitalized after consuming the substances, which sometimes are packaged similarly to existing candies marketed for children.

She advised adults to throw away products with those substances.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced Thursday an executive order that calls on a crack down of the sale of unregulated products that contain psychoactive cannabis compounds.

Parson issued an executive order prohibiting the sale of foods that contain the compounds in the state or less it’s originated from an approved source.

“Today, we are announcing new actions to combat the spread of unregulated psychoactive cannabis products that put the health of Missourians at risk,” Parson said in a news release. “This Executive Order effectively bans the sale of these potentially harmful products in Missouri until such time approved sources can be regulated by the FDA or State of Missouri through legislative action. Protecting Missourians, especially the most vulnerable, our children, has been our guiding principle since the very beginning and remains so today.”

The order also covers the products from being sold at retail businesses who hold a liquor license.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services will work to enforce the order, according to the news release.

Parson said there’s been an increase in availability in the products, which are marketed to appeal to younger people.

The products often resemble popular products and candies.

To enforce the order, businesses caught selling the products will be subject to having their liquor license disciplined by the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control.

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A Missouri woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to the fatal kidnapping of a pregnant woman in a failed plot to claim the victim’s baby as her own, federal officials said.

Amber Waterman admitted to the Oct. 31, 2022, killing of Ashley Bush, who was 31 weeks pregnant with Valkyrie Grace Willis at the time, the federal prosecutor’s office for the Western District of Missouri said in a statement.

Waterman, 44, entered the plea in connection with two counts of kidnapping resulting in death, the statement said.

She was charged in Bush’s killing in November 2022. Seven months later, Waterman was indicted in Valkryie’s death.

Waterman admitted to luring Bush, 33, from Arkansas to Missouri via Facebook with a fake name and a false promise of a job offer, according to the statement.

They first met at an Arkansas library three days before her death, the statement says. On Oct. 31, shortly before noon, Waterman and Bush met at a convenience store in Maysville, Ark. Waterman — who authorities previously said introduced herself as “Lucy” — said she’d take Bush to meet a supervisor. 

At 5 p.m. that day, first responders were dispatched to a store in a nearby Missouri town where Waterman said she had given birth in her truck on the way to the hospital, according to the statement.

Authorities previously said Waterman told investigators the baby was a stillbirth. In reality, the statement said, the child was Bush’s.

An autopsy said that Bush died of “penetrating trauma to the torso,” according to the statement.

Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Smith previously told reporters that the bodies of Bush and her baby were found in different locations.

Bush’s body was believed to have burned in a fire pit, authorities have previously said, citing Waterman’s husband.

The husband, Jamie Waterman, was charged with one count of assisting his wife in the kidnapping and preventing her apprehension. It isn’t clear if he has entered a plea. 

Lawyers for Amber and Jamie Waterman have not responded to requests for comment.

In a statement, the U.S. Attorney Missouri’s Western District, Teresa Moore, said Amber Waterman’s guilty plea ensures that she will be held accountable. She faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, Moore said.