Children are being sold green lollipops containing a trace of the chemical in cannabis that creates a "high".

The quantities of the chemical (THC) in Cannabis lollies are infinitesimal and anyone eating too many is more likely to get tooth decay than an artificial euphoria.

But the brand name emblazoned on the lolly containers has angered parents and teachers who say the manufacturers are introducing the drug to youngsters.

There are concerns the packaging glamorises cannabis while making it more accessible to children.

Maria Byrne, 34, of Barnett Road, Brighton, has a five-year-old daughter called Abigail. She said: "It's drugs on a stick, it's just awful. The makers are trying to aim at kids - it's not adults who are going to buy lollipops.

"When you take your children to a sweet shop after school, you try to get them out of there as quickly as possible because it's so busy. You do not read the labels and do not know if anything's in there. Children are not going to understand. I cannot explain to my five-year-old what cannabis is and why she cannot have it."

Another mum, Coleen Dennison, 28, of Brighton, said: "It's not the actual sweet itself I'm worried about.

"It's when they get older and come across real cannabis that bothers me.

"They'll remember those lollies that were on sale in the newsagents and think it's not that bad because they had them at school."

Smoker's Heaven in Queen's Road, Brighton, sells the lollies for 70p each. Staff said they had received no complaints.

St Paul's School in St Nicholas Road is the nearest school to the shop.

Headteacher Dorian Morgan said: "These lollies give out mixed messages. I am against the sale of anything that may be harmful to children. They may seem innocuous but, like the sweet cigarettes and matches that used to be available, they could lead children to think the real thing is something innocent.

"If they have nothing to do with cannabis smoking, why don't they give the lollies a completely different name?"

Charmagne Steedman, 24, works at the Hemp Shop in Gardner Street, North Laine.

She said: "I have been going back and forth to Amsterdam for ten years and hemp lollies have always been sold there. At the Amsterdam cannabis museum they give them to everyone on their way in, including children."

She said hemp sweets are safe because hemp is a variety of cannabis containing almost no THC, called cannabis sativa L.

Other hemp products on sale include pasta, soap, eczema treatments, fruit bars, clothing, drinks, shoes, rope and didgeridoos.

In England anything with a THC level of more than 0.01 per cent is illegal.

Naturally occurring marijuana, such as Thai or African, contains between three and six per cent THC while Moroccan resin is stronger at between six and nine per cent.

The lollipop manufacturers were unavailable for comment.