Police issue scary warning to parents after students in California receive THC-infused candy at elementary school Halloween event

Safety warnings to parents about Halloween candy aren’t new, but with legalized marijuana across many states, cannabis candies are creating new concerns as they show up at kid’s parties.

Police in California issued a warning Monday, after at least four elementary school students reportedly received marijuana edibles at their school’s Halloween ‘Trunk or Treat’ event. Authorities say one of the children became ill after ingesting the drug-laced treats.

The event was held at Alameda’s Amelia Earhart Elementary School on Sunday.

“The Alameda Police Department would like to bring your attention to a concerning incident that recently happened,” the department posted on FB. “We are currently investigating the report of a child ingesting THC-infused candy they received at a local Halloween trick-or-treating event over the weekend. The child became ill and sought immediate medical attention.

“Many THC-infused candies can closely resemble popular name brand sweets. This incident highlights a concern regarding the safety of our community during holiday celebrations such as Halloween.”

The discovery shocked many parents, who assumed their kids would be safe the school event. 

“I think none of us expected that something like this could happen,” Beth Meloy, who attended the event with her child, told FOX 2 KTVU. “It was a great event. Everyone had a good time. There were a lot of family volunteers handing out candy from their trunks.” 

After one family contacted the school Monday morning to inform school officials their child had become ill from ingesting the candy, school administrators alerted parents and began investigating. 

“We urge all families to sort through their child’s candy generally this week,” Susan Davis, senior manager for community affairs for the Alameda Unified School District, wrote in an email to parents. “Please know that we are working quickly to determine the source of this candy and if other children received it.” 

The candy in question looks remarkably similar to the popular Starburst brand of fruit chews. However, when examined carefully, the label states these fruit chews are “Cannabis-Infused.” 

“It looked like a standalone Starburst,” Meloy said after receiving the warning from the district. “I would never have looked had I not gotten those emails and phone calls – and it prevented my child from eating something that could have been really dangerous for him.” 

The district also alerted police, who began their own investigation. 

“So far we have done some interviews with different staff members, people who were at the event,” Alameda Police Chief Nishant Joshi told FOX 2. “Our goal is to figure out how this occurred and whether there was malicious intent, [or] was it an accident, and how can we prevent this from happening again.” 

Joshi also reiterated his warning to parents to check their children’s candy this Halloween. 

“Take a good look at the labeling, the packaging, to see whether the packages are open, read the ingredients, make sure there’s nothing that contains cannabis.”