By: Chase Rader
Halloween scaremongering is nothing new. Since 1959, concerned parents have warned against the risk of finding poisoned candy or razors and needles in their kid’s bags. Although there have been a handful of confirmed cases of tampering with candy, the majority of these stories have been hoaxes that were later debunked.
With states across the country legalizing recreational marijuana for adult use there is a new kind of paranoia sweeping the country: the fear that someone will slip a cannabis-infused food into your kid’s trick-or-treat bag, giving them an unwanted high on top of their sugar high.
These fears have spawned billboards across legal states which show pictures of gummy edibles and other treats, challenging parents to “Spot the Pot.” Last year, sheriffs in Illinois alerted local parents about marijuana-infused candy with pot leaf packaging, which turned out to be Japanese maple candies from Crunch Choco Bars. Local police and Poison Control Centers across the country have been issuing annual warnings around Halloween to check your kids bags for cannabis-infused candy.
Trying to protect kids is definitely nothing to scoff at, but some have gone as far as suggesting all edibles should be banned. Banning edibles over a hypothetical situation with no documented cases is a little extreme, but it does bring up an inherent problem surrounding edibles: cannabis-infused food is indistinguishable from regular food, not just for kids, but for adults as well.
To date there have been no reports of anyone handing out edibles to unsuspecting trick-or-treaters (which isn’t hard to believe considering how much edibles usually cost), so a more realistic concern is that regular candy will get mixed up with cannabis candy. Adults have their own “Halloweed” celebrations with homemade edibles, and many will stock up on their favorite edibles from a dispensary. If they have no way to distinguish them from regular food or candy it’s easy to see how someone could mix them up.
There’s actually an easy solution to preventing accidental consumption: Marking your edibles! Most people don’t know it’s even possible but you can use edible ink printers, wafer paper, or our products called Cannacals™ to mark edibles so they’re easy to identify.
Cannacals™ are edible green cross designs that can be applied to both homemade creations, or used to mark dispensary-bought products. Using a green cross to mark your edibles is a smart step. The green cross is an easy symbol to recognize, it means medicine and it may stop someone from putting that edible into their mouth.
Marking edibles is a nearly effortless extra step that could save you and your child an unpleasant night at the ER. With all the bad press edibles get, it’s important to show that the cannabis industry is responsible and capable of adapting to new challenges.
With legalization comes great responsibility… #markyouredibles #spotthepot
