No on 2 Suggests that Trick-or-Treaters are at Risk for Ingesting Marijuana-Infused Candies

One thing that has been brought up year after year on Halloween is a reminder to parents to look through their children’s candy bags before letting them enjoy any of the sweets they gathered on their adventure that night. The reason? Threats of razor blades in candy bars and anthrax in candy, placed there by people who seem to find joy in creating such devastation. Though, according to Snopes.com, there have been no reported cases of someone poisoning or otherwise tampering with Halloween candy – this fear has all stemmed from a single murder, which was made to look as though the act of a madman trying to poison children with Halloween treats.

Unfortunately, this idea has spread over the years and has now been floating around for decades – the poison or method of tampering always seeming to change with the times. Now, a group called Don’t Let Florida Go to Pot issued a warning that Amendment 2 may cause people to decide to slip marijuana-infused candies into children’s buckets and pillowcases on Halloween. This claim was then given even more reinforcement when the Sheriff’s Association and even Florida Poison Control decided to weigh in on the comments.

Don’t Let Florida Go to Pot and the Sheriff’s Association were quick to say that it was something they could definitely see happening – and even making false claims that it has been seen in places where marijuana is legal. In fact, both the Denver Police and the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center can tell you that there have been absolutely no cases of Halloween candy being tampered with, let alone being found to have cannabis in it.

At least while they were making these claims the folks at Florida Poison Control said that they didn’t think it would necessarily happen on purpose – but that perhaps it could happen accidentally. While I suppose if the individual really wasn’t paying attention, and they just happened to buy the same sort of candy for their trick-or-treaters as the kind they medicate with, then it could, in theory, happen on accident – but I’m sure it would take some extraordinary circumstances for this to occur.

These claims are being made just in time to try and make concerned parents even more worried about the pending Amendment 2 – and it is unfortunate that the opposition would stoop to this in order to try and scare people out of voting for a medical marijuana amendment. They took a fear that we all have – which stems from urban legends that have been circulating for generations – and ran with it in order to make Amendment 2 appear dangerous to children.

The truth is no one who consumes cannabis – or even anyone who sells it illegally – would ever want to just give it away to trick-or-treaters, and these claims really are as ridiculous as they sound. That’s not to say you shouldn’t look over your children’s candy – but don’t feed into these ridiculous fears about cannabis candies.