{"id":2123,"date":"2021-10-28T17:38:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T17:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CAIiEPqnThTtAwIo5bt72OoAdUMqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowiMz3CjChn9cCML3NpAY"},"modified":"2021-10-28T17:38:00","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T17:38:00","slug":"officials-warn-of-cannabis-laced-halloween-candy-but-experts-say-the-razor-blade-myth-has-simply-changed-f-masslive-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=2123","title":{"rendered":"Officials warn of cannabis-laced Halloween candy, but experts say the \u2018razor blade\u2019 myth has simply changed f – MassLive.com"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On Halloween, state attorneys general and public safety officials have said, parents must keep a close eye on their children\u2019s candy. Treats appearing to be brand name candy may in fact be marijuana-laced edibles.<\/p>\n

But the reality, an expert on the subject told the New York Times<\/a>, is that the fear over nefarious chemicals or items endings up in kids\u2019 candy is long overblown.<\/p>\n

Joel Best, a University of Delaware sociology professor, has researched the topic for nearly 40 years. In that time, he\u2019s found virtually no evidence that anyone sets out to trick or harm kids by putting razor blades, needles, poison or drugs into Halloween candy.<\/p>\n

This year, Best said, THC-laced Halloween candy is the suspected danger.<\/p>\n

Public officials in multiple states have warned of the prospect of people handing out cannabis edibles disguised as normal snack foods or candy.<\/p>\n

Among the products discussed are \u201cStoney Patch\u201d gummies<\/a> and \u201cDouble Stuf Stoneos<\/a>\u201d and \u201cTrips Ahoy<\/a>\u201d cookies. From \u201cWorlds Dankest Gushers,\u201d to \u201cGasheads Xtremes Sourfuls,\u201d to \u201cButtafingazzz,\u201d the list of imitation products goes on, sometimes drawing legal fights<\/a> from the companies whose food is replicated.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, there\u2019s a lot of sick and evil people out there,\u201d Fred Harran<\/a>, public safety director in Bensalem, Pa. said. \u201cThis is the world we live in.\u201d<\/p>\n

But incidents have not only been historically rare, they have been nearly nonexistent, the Times reported. Best\u2019s research has landed few cases of kids being harmed by malicious substances in their candy, and reports that have emerged have generally pointed to causes beyond random attacks.<\/p>\n

In 2015, for example, two Pennsylvania teenagers<\/a> eventually withdrew hoax claims that they had found needles in their candy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t find any evidence of any child being killed or seriously hurt by a contaminated treat picked up in the course of trick-or-treating,\u201d Best said.<\/p>\n

His research yielded only five instances of child deaths related to Halloween candy. In 1970, police originally believed a child died from heroin-laced candy, but evidence later emerged that he had come across the drug in a relative\u2019s home. In another instance, a child died from cyanide-laced candy he got from his father, who was later convicted of murder in the case.<\/p>\n

When warnings arise, Best said, people rarely consider the high costs someone would accrue by handing out marijuana edibles.<\/p>\n

A bag of Stoney Patch gummies goes for roughly $20. Double Stuf Stoneos cost $25 per pack. Not many people want to spend that money just to hand the products away, Best said.<\/p>\n

Still, worry has gripped parents and public health officials over incidents of kids accidentally ingesting THC.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the first half of 2021 alone, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reports poison control hotline calls have received an estimated 2,622 calls for services related to young children ingesting cannabis products,\u201d the Connecticut attorney general said in a statement.<\/p>\n

When combined with the fears of tainted candy, these concerns leads to annual public safety warnings about hidden Halloween dangers.<\/p>\n

In 2018, the Times noted, the Drug Enforcement Administration\u2019s St. Louis office wrote a similar warning to those seen by attorneys general this year. The DEA had seen an increase in seizures of drug-laced edibles, including chocolates and gummies, it said.<\/p>\n

The agency had not identified any specific threats, it said, but still issued the notice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Halloween, state attorneys general and public safety officials have said, parents must keep a close eye on their children\u2019s candy. Treats appearing to be brand name candy may in fact be marijuana-laced edibles. But the reality, an expert on the subject told the New York Times, is that the fear over nefarious chemicals or items endings up in kids\u2019 candy is long overblown. Joel Best, a University of Delaware sociology professor, has researched the topic for nearly 40 years. In that time, he\u2019s found virtually no evidence that anyone sets out to trick or harm kids by putting razor… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecticut-cbd-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2123\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}