Cannabis-based food products were the targets of a federal DEA investigation in California last year. The edibles, which are preferred by some patients who wish to avoid smoking, had been popular items among some of California's medical cannabis dispensaries prior to the DEA's crackdown.

As passed by the Judiciary, Feinstein's proposal - Senate Bill 1211 - would double penalties for anyone who "manufactures, creates, distributes, or possesses with intent to distribute a controlled substance that is flavored, colored, packaged, or otherwise altered in a way that is designed to make that controlled substance more appealing" to children.

The Senate is not expected to take any imminent action on the bill.