Are Kids Being Given Weed Candy For Halloween?

New Jersey residents are being warned to watch for marijuana-infused candy being distributed to their children this Halloween, but legalization advocates claim the “scare tactic” has no factual basis.

Dubbed the new “razors in candy apples” urban legend, the warning has stirred skepticism about what — if anything — prompted the warning. A tweet with a guide for identifying weed-infused candy was sent out by the New Jersey attorney general’s office Tuesday and directed parents to “check Halloween candy for marijuana-infused candy.”

“There is a significant presence of marijuana candy and other edible forms in New Jersey and nearby states,” the notice read. “The presence of these edible forms of marijuana poses a great risk to users, especially to children, who may [accidentally] receive marijuana candy during Halloween.”

Similar warnings were issued by doctors in Oregon, where recreational marijuana is legal. Dr. Patrick Luedtke, chief medical officer for Lane County Health, told ABC-syndicate KEZI that parents should screen candy before their children have an opportunity to eat it.

“We want parents to screen the candy before [their] children are eating it and not have them eat it while they're out on the street trick-or-treating,” he said.

Sharon Lauchaire, a spokeswoman for the state attorney general, cited “several instances” of children falling sick after being administered weed-laced candy. And the New Jersey attorney general’s office cited in its advisory a story of a 10-year-old boy in New York becoming ill after eating a marijuana gummy located in the backseat of his parents’ car. But advocates for cannabis legalization say there is little evidence to believe anyone would purposefully dose a child.

“Cannabis consumers are not looking to dose children with cannabis. That is not something that I’ve ever heard of anybody ever being interested in doing or wanting to do or would think is ethical,” said Evan Nison, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of NORML, according to the Associated Press. “This is just something that some police officers sometimes say every year, never really comes to fruition, and is just a scare tactic.”