California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a consumer alert warning of "unregulated and untested cannabis products" illegally designed to look like popular candies and snacks just days before Halloween, but the likelihood any end up in children's trick-or-treat bags this weekend is exceedingly low.
Bonta on Thursday advised California residents to look out for "cannabis-infused edibles" packaged and sold as "copycat versions of popular food and candy products." The lookalikes are sold online, not in dispensaries or even stores, and none of the major brands the products choose to illegally emulate are in the cannabis business.
"From 'Stoney Patch Kids' to 'Trips Ahoy,' illegal cannabis products can be highly toxic, their THC levels unverified and their packaging can pose a risk to your children's safety," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a press conference.
Recreational cannabis use is legal in California for adults who are at least 21 years old.
Bonta's release on Thursday didn't mention Halloween, but it occurred three days before the celebration and two days after multiple state attorneys general issued similar warnings, even citing the same products as Bonta. Law enforcement in South Carolina also arrested a teacher earlier this month, who they claimed placed a bag of edibles in a prize box that was later grabbed by a student.
One of the edibles mentioned by the state attorneys general, designed to look like a bag of Doritos, contained 600 milligrams of THC, well over the California limit of 100 milligrams per package for adult use.
Pediatric exposure and ICU visits from marijuana edibles has increased in recent years, according to state figures. However, it's extremely unlikely children trick-or-treating this weekend will come across these THC-infused lookalikes or any others.
The products themselves are far more expensive than typical Halloween candy. For instance, the "Stoney Patch Kids" Bonta warned about cost $36 for a 500 milligram package online, while a Halloween pack of 100 bags of Sour Patch Kids can be purchased for just under $10 at multiple online retailers.
Reports of tainted Halloween candy are also far less common than annual warnings about it. The few actual reports are often revealed to be hoaxes, or something else entirely, according to annual research.
Joel Best, a sociology and criminal justice professor who annually monitors media reports from major U.S. cities of "Halloween sadism," or giving contaminated treats to unsuspecting children, wrote there were only four reported instances in 2019. Of the five deaths over the last 50 years initially attributed to Halloween sadism, each was subsequently linked to an unrelated cause.
Best updates his research every year. He told Slate in 2019 he didn’t "know of anybody who's been hurt from drugs in Halloween candy" and the New York Times earlier this week he had seen no confirmed reports of children sickened by cannabis candy.
Nonetheless, warnings continue across the country and in California.
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