Cannabis edibles found in children’s Halloween candy in Winnipeg: police
Posted November 1, 2022 12:17 pm.
Last Updated November 1, 2022 4:40 pm.
Winnipeg police say packages of marijuana edibles that looked like candy were found in children’s bags after trick-or-treating in the South Tuxedo neighbourhood on Monday.
Police say they received at least half a dozen reports about THC “Nerds” candy found by parents.
At a press conference Tuesday, Cst. Dani McKinnon said police have not received reports of children being harmed.
McKinnon acknowledged it could be a hoax – that the candies inside the packaging may not be drugs – but Winnipeg police are treating it as a cannabis product until testing results come back.
Tetrahydrocannabinol, a substance found in marijuana, can be harmful to children.
Winnipeg mom shocked
Winnipeg mom Jocelyn Cordeiro posted on social media Monday night warning others about the cannabis package her nine-year-old daughter received while trick-or-treating.
Cordeiro says she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“It was frightening, upsetting, shocking,” she recounted. “Like I said in my Twitter post, not something I thought would actually happen.”
Cordeiro says from now on, she is going to take a closer look at what her daughter brings home, not just on Halloween night, but all the time.
“I’m always looking for open packages, loose candy, and those types of things, but anything in a sealed package like that?”
I thought it was an urban myth. My kid got edibles in their candy bag tonight. Check your kids’ candy!!!!! pic.twitter.com/vfaeGBKhSR
— Jocelyn Cordeiro (@live_to_run) November 1, 2022
Police say the product – not sanctioned by Nerds – was in a package indicating 600 mg of THC. The items “do not meet the legal requirement” to be sold in Canada, McKinnon added.
Investigators learned the THC edibles were packaged along with regular full-size chocolate bars inside individual zipped sandwich bags.
Police are telling anyone who finds THC candies to handle the product with care, possibly with gloves.
McKinnon says it’s too early in the investigation to determine possible charges. The THC candies will be tested by investigators.
“We don’t know the motive behind this,” she said.
“We’re treating this as a serious incident.”
Patrol officers have met with parents who reported it to police and seized the items. Police are determining which houses the kids visited on Monday night while trick-or-treating.
—With files from Alex Karpa
