Police Warn Denver Parents To Watch For Pot Edibles In Halloween Candy

The Denver Police Department would like parents to be aware that some of the candy that ends up in your kids’ trick-or-treat bags this Halloween may not intended for children.

The Department posted a video on YouTube on Monday warning parents to be on the lookout for “edibles.” Edibles are pot-infused snacks or, more specifically in this case, candy, in their kids’ Halloween trick-or-treating haul, according to KUSA (Denver).

Patrick Johnson, owner of the Urban Dispensary (a Denver pot shop), appears in the video, explaining how “edibles” are made and how they can be confused with ordinary candy.

“Edibles account for somewhere between 20 and 30 percent of our gross sales here in the shop.”

Johnson explains how some pot edibles are made.

“So they’ll buy it in bulk form, then they infuse it by using viscous hash oil. They spray that onto the candy and once that candy dries, there’s really no way to tell the difference between candy that’s infused and candy that’s not infused.”

The problem comes from the fact that parents may not be able to spot pot-infused candy marketed to marijuana users, and regular candy that comes off the store shelves. In particular, some pot candy manufacturers make candy that looks strikingly similar to candy that you’d normally find in your child’s trick or treat bag.

“What’s happening a lot with the edible manufacturers who have focused on a hard or a soft candy is that the most cost-effective way for them to bring that to the market is to use knock-off candy.”

In other words, be on the lookout for cheap imports that mimic the real thing.

Pot-infused candy in the hands (or mouths) of people who aren’t prepared for it is no laughing matter; at least two people were unknowingly given pot-laced candy at a “Pot Pavilion” at the Denver Fair last summer, and were treated in emergency rooms, according to this Inquisitr report (here’s a hint: if you’re at a “Pot Pavilion” and someone gives you candy, odds are good there’s pot in it). And USA Today reports at least 70 cases, as of this post, of parents calling poison control lines after their children got into (the parents’) edibles.

Mr. Johnson says that the Halloween candy advice that we’ve all lived with for ages (that is, check your children’s candy thoroughly) is the way to go. And the best way to make sure your children don’t wind up with pot candy this Halloween? If you aren’t sure what it is, throw it out.

[Images courtesy of: ABC News, Breaking the News Barrier]