Parents Are Getting Their Annual Warning To Watch For Weed In Halloween Candy

It’s becoming something of a yearly Halloween tradition. Parents—especially those living in weed legal states—hear warnings about weed. The warnings come from a variety of public agencies. This typically includes police, health departments, and more.

And the primary message: to watch out for edibles when your kids go trick or treating. True to form, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission this week published its Halloween press release. In it, the commission tells parents to watch out for edibles made to look like regular candy.

Warning Comes from Cannabis Control Commission

In the public notice, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission reminds parents that this is the first Halloween since legal marijuana shops opened in the state.

The commission reminded parents to lock up any marijuana products they have in their own homes. Additionally, the memo also warned parents to watch out for what their kids get while they are out trick or treating. In particular, the commission said to watch out for edibles that look like regular candy.

“Like all of the Halloweens that came before this one, parents should be on the lookout for products that are unsafe for kids after they trick-or-treat,” public health appointee to the Cannabis Control Commission said in the press release.

Warnings Come Despite Safeguards

The statement also reminded parents that there are already a number of safeguards in place to deter kids from getting their hands on edibles. This includes requiring all legal products to be packaged in tamper and child resistant containers.

Additionally, all cannabis products on the legal market are required to follow a number of labeling rules. This includes ensuring that all packages have two symbols on them.

One symbol is a red triangle with a cannabis leaf in the middle. The symbol has the words “Contains THC” below it. Similarly, the other symbol is a red octagon with the words “not safe for kids” on the inside of it.

Yet, despite these safeguards—and the simple fact that edibles sold in legal shops are generally not packaged in individual pieces and are very expensive compared to regular candy—the agency is still telling parents to be on the lookout.

“Although the Commission has strong safeguards in place to deter underage access to marijuana products, there are illegal items out there that are made to appeal to youth,” Flanagan said in the commission’s statement. “To prevent any accidental cannabis consumption by children this week, we encourage parents to check Halloween candy and keep their own legal purchases locked up and out of sight.”

Kids and Cannabis

It is fairly common to hear concerns about young people consuming cannabis. Often, this is a fear stoked by the anti-cannabis camp.

On the one hand, it is true that kids once in a while accidentally eat an edible. And when it happens, the kid might get sick or scared by the experience. However, these instances are not fatal. In fact, it is essentially impossible to overdose on cannabis.

But on the other hand, data so far suggests that young people do not actually consume more weed when it’s more widely available.

Take, for example, a study from July of this year. The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, found that the rate of teen cannabis use has gone down in states where weed is legal.