STAFFORD – Police are looking for the person or persons responsible for providing some trick or treaters with marijuana laced candy on Halloween.
Parents reported the incident to police yesterday that a bag of “Medic8-ed Nerdy Bears” was discovered in a child’s Halloween bag. The child had been trick-or-treating in the Ocean Acres area of the township.
According to an article from Masslive.com state attorneys general and public safety officials urged parents to keep a close eye on their children’s candy. They warned that treats appearing to be brand name candy could in fact be marijuana-laced edibles. That is what happened in Stafford Township but such incidents are rare.
Fred Harran who serves as public safety director in Bensalem, Pa. was quoted in the Masslive.com article saying “unfortunately, there’s a lot of sick and evil people out there. This is the world we live in.”
An expert on the subject told The New York Times, that the fear over nefarious chemicals or items endings up in kids’ candy is long overblown. Delaware University Sociology Professor Joel Best has researched this topic for four decades and found virtually no evidence that anyone sets out to trick or harm kids by putting razor blades, needles, poison or drugs into Halloween candy.
Best said this year that THC-laced Halloween candy is the suspected danger and public officials in multiple states have warned of the probability of individuals handing out cannabis edibles disguised as normal snack foods or candy.
Along with the Medic8-ed Nerdy Bears there are products such as “Stoney Patch” gummies and “Double Stuf Stoneos” and “Trips Ahoy” cookies. There are also items such as “Worlds Dankest Gushers,” “Gasheads Xtremes Sourfuls,” and “Buttafingazzz.” The list of imitation products is a long one and often leads to litigation from the firms whose names and food are replicated.
Historically such incidents are, nearly nonexistent, according to The New York Times and Best’s research has uncovered very few cases of trick or treaters being harmed by malicious substances in their Halloween bags.
As of November 3, “there have no reports of any similar incidents throughout Stafford Township. It appears to be an isolated incident. Everything is still under investigation, and we will update our social media sites if any new information becomes available,” Stafford Police Captain James R. Vaughn said.
Parents, as always, are advised to check all of their children’s candy to ensure its safety. To report additional incidents or information, contact Detective Russel Dunfee at 609-597-1000 ext. 8444 or e-mail Rdunfee@staffordpolice.org.
