Lawmakers push to ban Amazon product linked to youth suicides: 'Companies ... must be held accountable'
A new bill would make Washington the fourth U.S. state to ban a highly toxic form of sodium nitrite after multiple families pushed for action to save young lives, KING 5 reported.
The proposed law would stop stores from selling the concentrated chemical compound, which has no real home use but has been available through online retailers. The ban would allow businesses to keep selling food-safe concentrations of sodium nitrite, which helps preserve meats such as beef jerky. Professional labs would still have access to the industrial-strength version.
Parents whose children died by suicide via the substance are speaking up to support the bill. Michelle Vasquez-Stickley shared with lawmakers that her 15-year-old son Tyler Schmidt killed himself after he bought the chemical through Amazon in 2020.
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"This preventable tragedy makes one thing clear: Companies like Amazon must be held accountable and stronger consumer protections are desperately needed to safeguard our children," she testified before the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee.
After much pressure from grieving families, Amazon took the dangerous product off its platform in late 2022. However, no laws stop other companies from selling it. The new bill aims to fix that gap by making sales illegal statewide, with fines up to $10,000 for first-time violations and $1 million for repeat offenses.
The bill has broad support from health and safety groups, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness Washington chapter, the state's pediatricians association, and even Amazon itself. If passed, it would take effect right away through an emergency clause.
"We're setting a standard here and we're not going to allow this product to be sold. We're going to make sure that we're removing these sorts of easily accessible, harmful products," said Rep. Sharlett Mena, who introduced the bill.
"The thing that's so dangerous about sodium nitrite is how lethal it is. You don't have a second chance," said New York-based attorney Carrie Goldberg, who represents families suing Amazon over the chemical's sale.
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