Philly420: Cannabis candies for Trick-or-Treat? Unlikely

Parents have a lot to worry about on Halloween: Trimming zombie or princess outfits, proper lighting, and picking out the perfect pumpkin.

One thing parents should not be concerned with is marijuana-infused candy. Millions of children will go door-to-door tonight in one of America's best traditions of sharing and community. It's a chance to actually meet your neighbors while dressing up in fun costumes, creating priceless, positive memories of childhood.

But will folks be giving out bags of cannabis candies to kids? Not likely.

"Alarmist warnings about medicated edibles often mask an anti-cannabis agenda," said Dr. Mitch Earleywine, a psychologist and Chairman of the National NORML Board of Directors. "These medicated products are markedly more expensive than candy. No one is likely to hand them out willy-nilly to random trick-or-treaters. I'm more concerned about kids wearing costumes that will keep them visible to cars."

Earleywine said the basic rule is something 99.9% of parents already follow: "Rely on labeled candy that is individually wrapped."

Police have an important role to keep the streets safe from careless drivers, deal with any aggressive mischief, and help any kids who might become lost on their travels.

This year, the police have taken on the role of scaremongers. Instead of instilling a sense of security, they are spreading fear. Tens of thousands of grade-school students in the Garden State were sent home with flyers from the New Jersey State Police this week shrieking the dangers of marijuana-infused candy. This modern myth originated in Denver earlier this month. The Philadelphia Police have also jumped on the bandwagon.

The result has been a series of grossly misguided warnings. Perhaps the law enforcement community sees Halloween as a teachable moment for kids and pot candy. But, like so many other awareness campaigns, the marijuana information pushed onto kids in school (without parental consent) is false. Even worse, akin to previous efforts, it may even entice children rather than deter minors.

Yesterday, I received more than a dozen emails and phone calls from N.J. parents. They were not concerned about getting any dosed candy. They were aghast at the troopers' bizarre information sheet.

"My 13-year-old son is asking me about Keef Kats," said one South Jersey mom, "It's like some sort of commercial for this stuff in school. He knows not to smoke pot or even cigarettes. But I could just tell he was like interested in this candy now. He had never even heard of this stuff before."

This wouldn't be the first time that a taxpayer-funded awareness effort produced the opposite effect. In 2009, Penn researchers found that the marijuana imagery in government-sponsored TV ads actually encouraged teens to want to try pot. That study led, in part, to the ads being pulled form the airwaves.

The NJSP flyer itself states (in bold!) "Currently there is no information that anyone would intentionally give out marijuana candy."

Which is why these flyers should have never been distributed at all.

Since the Denver Police inspired departments around the country to dress up like Reefer Madness this Halloween, several mainstream media sources, including Forbes and The Guardian, have pointed out the flawed reasoning of the warnings.  There is not a single recorded instance of anyone giving out marijuana candy to kids on purpose. Ever.

Beyond the straight-up advertising in the flyer there were, oddly, even some basic instructions on how to craft some THC edibles from the NJSP. The worst part were the blatant falsehoods. The flyer implies that a single accidental exposure to a single marijuana edible could cause "long-term" issues such as "psychosis" and "cognitive impairment" -- both claims have no basis in science.

The flyer also includes a promotion for the Governor's Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse saying that "no one is immune to the deadly drug problem." Of course, there is absolutely no lethal dose of THC or cannabis.

Then there are the warnings that parents should handle potential devil's lettuce candies with "vinyl or non-latex gloves" to reduce exposure to "drug particles" -- as if cannabis were like a strain of Spanish flu.

Perhaps the strangest part is a highlighted section of the flyer where the N.J. medical marijuana law is mentioned. Many N.J. police departments claim that after four years they have still not received or reviewed the Attorney General's Guidelines on the Compassionate Use program. This has resulted in several registered medical marijuana patients being arrested. The lack of police clarity about the program has also prompted some N.J. patients to deliver the guidelines directly to some police headquarters around the state.

Sadly, N.J. medical cannabis patients actually cannot purchase prepared edible products or even extracted oils at either of the state's two operating Alternative Treatment Centers. Although the law states that "lozenges" are legal, and subsequent legislation signed by Gov. Christie in 2013 allowed for oils, nothing but raw plant material has ever been sold to patients.

Moreover, in fully legal states, edibles are expensive; single cookies can cost upwards of $20. The idea that someone would hand out their expensive adult treats, even by accident, is almost laughable. The Guardian pointed out that more kids were sent to emergency rooms in Colorado over exposure to nicotine e-cigarettes (16 kids in one year) than for marijuana edibles (7 kids over two years).

After all the hype, one reader of Denver's Westword pointed out that if any kid does get some dosed candy tonight in Colorado, it might be a truly nefarious act by a person who is fervently anti-marijuana looking to maximize on the myth.

Finally the most disturbing part from the flyer is what is missing. Far more dangerous to kids tonight, or any night of the year, is exposure to prescription pharmaceuticals. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "An estimated 71,000 children (18 years old or younger) are seen in emergency departments each year because of unintentional medication poisonings (excluding recreational drug use). Most of these visits (over 80%) were because an unsupervised child found and consumed the medication without adult supervision."

But we don't ban all the pills Big Pharma manufactures every year in the name of child safety like we prohibit non-lethal cannabis.

It is also important to note that states with legal medical marijuana have shown no increase in teen use, even some declines. Some speculate that the medical aspect takes away the allure.

Parents and schools need to be honest with children about marijuana. Unless kids have a serious illness such as epilepsy, HIV or cancer, they should not be consuming cannabis. Just like they should not be drinking alcohol, smoking cigars or driving cars. But when they are adults they also need the right tools to be able to do all of those things, and perhaps smoke marijuana, responsibly.

Disinformation leads to risky behavior in teens and adults. Gov. Christie, the N.J. State Police and the other groups behind this flyer have already done much more harm than good.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween with less worry and more fun!

Chris Goldstein smoked his first joint in 1994 and has been working to legalize marijuana ever since. He serves on the Board of Directors at PhillyNORML has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Contact Goldstein at chris@freedomisgreen.com or on Twitter @freedomisgreen.