Lazy Cakes-Parents Beware

Santa Rosa Sheriff’s office issues public statement: “Lazy Cakes” are a new relaxation brownie containing Rose Hips, Valerian Root and 4 mg of the drug Melatonin, a hormone that the brain makes naturally to help us sleep. These brownies not only taste great, but are a chocolate alternative to medication and narcotics that can help you relax and fall asleep. These were introduced in late 2010 and are becoming a huge craze, sweeping the country. When eaten, they can induce deep sleep for up to 12 hours or more. A 15-year old in Memphis gave a “Lazy Cake” to his nephew who went to sleep and didn’t wake up. He was rushed to the ER and although he eventually did arise, clinicians in the ER said the kid might have died. People are grabbing this product off the shelves believing in its promise to melt away your troubles and help people to calm down after a day of stress and caffeine drinks.“Lazy Cakes” are not illegal. It is a regular chocolate product combined with drugs and then sold and regulated as a food. But, the ingredient Melatonin is a drug and has been banned in many countries or only made available as a prescription drug. Melatonin, when taken, tells the body that it’s night-time and time to sleep. It has also been implicated, in higher or lower levels, in different mechanisms of cancer formation. So what is it doing in brownies that anyone might eat? What about the 5 yr. old who sees one in the refrigerator and is attracted to the SpongeBob Square Pants like character on the label, but can’t read the label or know that the Melatonin drug lurks inside? How many of these kids may eat one and end up at the emergency room? How many could eat one of these “relaxation brownies” in front of their parents or a teacher and they would never know it? These are some of the fears being expressed about “Lazy Cakes.” Many kids add high energy drinks to alcohol to mask alcohol’s depressant effects, drink a lot of it until the booze hits them like a ton of bricks. These same kids are being targeted by the “Lazy Cakes” manufacturers. The manufacturers of “Lazy Cakes” even have advertising out that says “How do you stop a charging bull?” with the inscription next to what looks like a can of Red Bull. The message being sent alludes to get your kid down from his energy drink high with “relaxation brownies.” The labeling on the back of the packaging of this product does say it’s not a snack food for children and people shouldn’t drink, drive or operate heavy equipment after eating them, but how many people actually read the labeling? As of July 2011, the company HBB LLC, has renamed the product “Lazy Larry” after lawmakers and public officials expressed concern. The FDA now states that melatonin is not a safe food additive and could soon seize this product from store shelves.