As children and teens prepare for trick-or-treating on Friday night, law enforcement is warning parents of a disturbing trend involving candy being laced with THC products.
During their final formal meeting in September, some of the state’s top elected officials said they were concerned that THC-laced candies, cookies and other treats were mimicking packaging similar to popular snacks, like Oreos.
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“It's 'Stoneo,' with a picture of an Oreo on it," Secretary of State Elaine Marshall said as she passed them around the table during a meeting with the state’s top elected official in September.
"For the logo for Nabisco, it's 'Dabisco.' The problem is, these are geared toward children. It's an adult product."
Detective Bailey Bertolani with the Sampson County Sheriff's Office said the candies on the surface look normal, but there is labeling that notifies people that it is, in fact, a THC product.
"These are bright colors," Bertolani said. "They're fun characters and kids are attracted to them."
THC is legal, in small amounts, in North Carolina. The chemical can be found in illegal marijuana as well as in legal hemp. But even products with low enough levels of THC to be legal still shouldn't be given to children, Marshall said.
Bertolani on Thursday showed WRAL News some of the packaging that is used for the products.
"A lot of the packaging, which is commercially available, can look like an Oreo package, and we have seen stuffed cereal bags and pina colada mixes," Bertolani said.
The issue has caused alarm across the country, heading into one of the biggest holidays involving candy.
A week ago, investigators in Michigan found snack and candy knock-offs that look identical to the real things. Police found them at someone’s house and confiscated them, but noted there was no evidence that the people who had them intended to give them to children.
If they end up in a candy supply, some of them could be deadly to a child going from house to house to get candy. While authorities say there have been no reports of the trend in North Carolina between their meeting in September and Thursday, they are asking parents to remain aware.
“I would recommend to just look over your kid’s candy,” Bertolani said. “If it’s not in a known sealed package, throw it away. Contact your local law enforcement agency.”
While none have been found during this Halloween season, a study published in a medical journal from the American Academy of Pediatrics found reports of children aged 6 and under consuming THC went up “1,375%” between 2017 and 2019, exploding from 200 cases to more than 3,000.
If your child does get their hands on those candies and snacks and eats them, call poison control or take them to the hospital immediately.
WRAL anchor Dan Haggerty contributed to this report.