Health officials warn against eating 'relaxation' cookies and brownies

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - These brownies and cookies don't give you a sugar high. Instead, they're supposed to make you relax.

"People are probably buying them thinking they're hash brownies, but I don't think they're anything like that," Alexandria Knapp said.

Knapp's friend tried a Lazy Cake , now called Lazy Larry, a few months ago.

"He said he didn't really feel anything spectacular. He just was lazy and sat around," Knapp said.

Last month, the FDA issued a warning against Lazy Cake because it "contains an unsafe food additive." 

Lazy Cake has melatonin and valerian root in it to give people a lazy, sleepy reaction. Both supplements are often used as sleep aids, but the FDA said melatonin is an unapproved food additive.

NewsChannel 15 didn't find any Lazy Cakes for sale in Fort Wayne on Thursday, but did find a WOWnie and Hippie Chip for sale in 20 Past 4 & More in Fort Wayne. It's a tobacco paraphernalia shop.

"This reminds me of K2 and I think you're appealing to a more of an alternative crowd," Dr. Deb McMahan, the Allen County health commissioner, said when looking at a picture of a Lazy Cake. "It's a mellow thing, not really trying to help with insomnia."

The WOWnie and the Hippie Chip have tryptophan in them. The companies who make the snacks say on their websites that they are designed to help stressed people relax and help people sleep better.

"If you're really stress out there are good medications for that and good non-medication treatments that would be more effective than a Lazy Cake," McMahan said. "Always have a high suspicion for these kind of products."

All the items say for "adult use only" on the packaging, but it could be hazardous if a child eats one.

"Melatonin is the number one herbal product that causes parents and doctors to call poison control," McMahan said.

An extreme amount of melatonin could suppress breathing, McMahan added. But, area hospitals said they had no known cases of melatonin overdoses come into the emergency rooms.

The manufacturers didn't return NewsChannel 15's phone calls and emails Thursday.

McMahan said as a rule of thumb, stick to what's regulated by the government.

"What always concerns me about these products is they're not regulated by the FDA. There are no manufacturing guidelines, so you're hopeful that what they put on the packaging is actually in there, but you don't know with any certainty," she said.

Last year, lawmakers banned K2 or spice, a synthetic marijuana commonly found at gas stations, but McMahan said a similar ban might be difficult for the sleepy sweets. K2 actually contained cannabis, but the Lazy Cake, WOWnie and Hippie Chip don't contain any illegal substance.

McMahan added that if someone needs help sleeping or dealing with stress, he or she should contact a doctor.