Pot laced candy concern for Halloween

As families gear up for Halloween, a warning to be extra vigilant when going through your child’s candy-bag. Some of the treats may be more like a trick when it comes to distinguishing between real candy and edible marijuana.

To add to the concern, more pot shops are slated to open in the Coachella Valley, with Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs recently approving to allow businesses to move in.

“We sell everything from jolly ranchers, suckers, cookies, brownies,” said Organic Solutions of the Desert President James Camper.

At first glance it looks like a candy store with chocolate bars and bright colored packaging, but all of this is actually edible marijuana sold at a medical marijuana dispensary.

“A lot of the edibles that are out there now at a glance without reading the labels you almost can’t tell the difference between them and actually something you bought at a regular store,” said Camper.

“I had no idea they were doing that,” said parent Gustavo Velazquez.

We showed several parents pictures of edible marijuana now being sold in the desert. Most could not tell the difference between that and regular candy.

“It looks the same,” said parent Vanessa Garcia.

“They could just pass that on and little kids wouldn’t even know, that is not good,” said Velazquez.

We also showed parents a picture of packaged gold fish, that is also marijuana.

“Oh wow, so we don’t even know if we could eat something that people could give us,” said Garcia.

Organic Solutions of the Desert refused to sell a brand of THC gummies because they looked too much like the real thing and with no warning labels it could too easily be misused or get into the wrong hands.

“In a candy bar form they should read, there is warnings, with the California safety code, keep away from children, do not drive, all those warning labels should be on that candy,” said Camper.

Last year in Canada, some kids ended up in the emergency room after eating lollipops laced with synthetic marijuana. In Los Angeles, the LAPD also warned parents about edible pot, packaged to look just like candies kids are used to eating.

“Anything that you are not okay with, get it out of the bag, but I would definitely read every single label because I wouldn’t be surprised if you hear it in the news that somebody does it,” said Camper.

“I think it’s sad because I mean a lot of kids look forward to going trick or treating and eating candy but now we just probably can’t because of everything that is going on in the world and we can’t trust no one,” said Garcia.

Edible marijuana can be extremely dangerous in high doses not just for children but also for adults too. It works differently than when you smoke it, it takes longer to feel the affects and that can lead to an overdose, especially if you don’t know what you are consuming.

That’s why when it comes to Halloween candy, it’s extremely important to read the labels and if there isn’t one, throw it out.