REGION — For many kids, coming home after an evening of trick-or-treating came with it’s own tradition. Moms and dads across America would painstakingly sit and carefully examine every candy wrapper and every treat that came out of our orange pumpkin shaped buckets. Many of us have grown to do the same with our own children, and that stems from the same stories our parents would tell us.
The poisoned candy.
These stories have taken many forms, some based on fact and some not – from razor blades in candied apples to the belief that the legalization of cannabis in some parts of the county would lead to an outbreak of pot brownies and THC gummies getting in the hands of children.
Fortunately, cases like these are not as common as one would think, but they do happen enough that we still take extreme precaution before we allow our children to ingest any candy. Just last year, a man in Eugene, Oregon, was arrested after multiple razor blades were found hidden in children’s Halloween candy. Another little girl in Long Island, New York, found a razor blade in her candy.
No injuries or deaths were caused from either of these incidents, but just reading the headline is enough to warrant hours spent examining a chocolate bar.
Where exactly this concern came from is uncertain. It came to prominence during the Industrial Revolution, when candy and other treats moved from being strictly homemade to being manufactured and sold at a marketplace. Once preparation fell into hands of others, food tampering became an element of concern that grew over time.
The concern gained traction sometime in the 1960s, after instances such as a New York woman who was arrested for handing out ant poison and dog biscuits to kids. She explained herself by stating it was a joke and she was only trying to discourage kids she felt were too old to be trick-or-treating.
Other instances were not so mild, like the most infamous Halloween poisoning that took place in 1974. Ronald O’Bryan of Texas gave cyanide-laced pixie sticks to five children, including his son. While the other children did not eat the candy, his own son did and tragically passed. Investigators clued in on O’Bryan after it was revealed he had taken life insurance policies out on his children.
He was convicted of murder and executed via lethal injection in 1984.
In more recent times, other forms of food tampering have come to light. With the recent legalization of cannabis in several parts of the country, many have feared an onslaught of kids coming into possession of candies and treats laced with THC.
Colorado was the first to see this fear when it legalized cannabis in 2012. The Denver Police Department in 2014 pushed a campaign for parents to examine their children’s candy for marijuana edibles.
According to the DPD and the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center, no cases of people giving marijuana candies to children occurred that Halloween and the state of Washington made a similar report that year.
While other cases have occurred in other parts of the country, Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center maintains it is not seeing a pattern of marijuana edibles and other candies being given out at Halloween.
Regardless, if you are concerned for the well being of your child, or yourself, then please take the time to examine their candy at Halloween.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
