LANCASTER – With Halloween only a few days away, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is reminding residents of health hazards.
They say in recent months, thousands of illicit edible products have been seized in the form of candies, cookies, cereal snacks, and bottled soda, all containing varying amounts of concentrated tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive substance found in the marijuana plant.
Marijuana is habit forming and addiction can required treatment at one of the many drug rehabs in California.
“Edible marijuana products pose a significant health threat,” said Jonathan E. Fielding, Director of Public Health. “There are too many unknowns regarding the preparation and the amount of marijuana contained in these products.”
“They can be easily mistaken for common foods due to improper labeling and packaging, leading to cases of intoxication from accidental ingestion of ‘pot cookies’ and ‘pot brownies’ that were thought to be ordinary, drug-free snacks,” Fielding continued.
The items are packaged to resemble licensed commercial candy and snacks and are packaged to be attractive to children and teens.
Some items have no label to warn the consumer of their content, and many that are labeled do not contain a reasonable indication of drug content, recommended dosage, or instructions for use.
Because their makers intend to remain anonymous, no contact information is listed.
Some of the processes used to extract and concentrate the THC for the manufacture of these items include the use of chemical solvents, such as liquid butane, to extract THC from the plant material. Methods used to extract the drug may also extract any pesticide or fertilizer residue as well, carrying those potentially toxic chemicals into the items.
The LASD is warning parents to closely inspect their children’s treats this Halloween to ensure that they are properly packaged and labeled, and are from trusted sources to ensure that children do not accidentally ingest a concentrated drug.
(Information via press release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)
Jo says
Really, another OH MY GOD moment. There’s marijuana edibles. Runnnnnn! LOL.
Chances are pretty good those possessing such AREN’T too keen on giving them to the neighborhood kids. But it’s a great way to justify another 1//2 dozen cops shaking people down.
“The items are packaged to resemble licensed commercial candy and snacks and are packaged to be attractive to children and teens.” As stated by Stinger, a responsible parent will always inspect what their children get in their candy bags, but this has been reported as a threat for the last couple of years and I have yet to see any statistics proving this to be any kind of a problem. Did hear of a couple of elderly attendees of a funeral accidentally ingesting a couple of pot brownies at a funeral, where the deceased was fond of such, but that was out of town, and months ago.
The bigger threat is middle school kids, to old to trick or treat, raiding their parents liquor cabinets for a night of celebrating. But old news, so not enough to generate the same hype!
Stinger says
Although I agree that parents should ALWAYS inspect the candy that their children bring home from Halloween, I bristle at the news media trying to hype this situation beyond what is reasonable.
The ‘candy’ in question is created specifically for those on a marijuana medication regimen and the vast majority of it clearly states on its packaging that it is not intended for consumption as candy as well as statements of, “keep away from children or animals.” Also (and very importantly): THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO REPORTS OF ANY OF THESE ITEMS BEING EVER GIVEN AWAY AS HALLOWEEN CANDY!