WMBCTV: Doctors Warn of Hidden THC in Halloween Candy as Look-Alike Edibles Send Victims to ER

What started as a simple craving for something sweet turned into a medical emergency for one New Jersey grandmother. Officials say she unknowingly ate a bag of candy infused with THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, after mistaking it for a common brand-name treat.

“It becomes a problem in younger patients like small children - and older patients. Sometimes older patients come in, presenting similar to stroke-like symptoms and in pediatric populations, it’s most of the time okay but it’s not unheard of,” said Dr. Daria Falkowitz, Director of Division of Medical Toxicology, Hackensack University Medical Center. “We’ve had them sometimes being put in ventilators, they’ve been sick in the ICU for a day or two so it’s definitely not a benign thing.”

Health experts say the deceptive packaging is designed to look almost identical to household snack favorites like Snickers, Cheetos, Sour Patch Kids, Hersheys or Oreos - making it easy for anyone to grab without realizing what’s inside.

“So we always sort of saw this. It’s much more frequent now since the legalization of marijuana - it’s everywhere you go, you could buy it in stores,” said Dr. Daria Falkowitz, Director of Division of Medical Toxicology, Hackensack University Medical Center. “Sometimes people don’t even realize they're purchasing it. It’s easy at first glance to confuse them with your regular candy that you’re used to eating always but the package is almost identical and it’s done that way intentionally.”

With candy being handed out across communities this evening, doctors say it’s more important than ever for parents to inspect those wrappers closely - and for anyone with THC edibles at home to keep them securely stored away.

“Let’s be aware of everything that’s going on, especially with all this extra candy around Halloween,” said Dr. Daria Falkowitz, Director of Division of Medical Toxicology, Hackensack University Medical Center. “We’ll certainly see an uptick in these ingestions over the next few weeks as the candy kind of lingers around but I would suggest that everyone goes to their emergency department if there’s anything concerning - if there’s any changes in mental status, any concern for any type of ingestion, we encourage them to come in and get checked out. We’d rather have them come in and everything be okay than not come in and get assessed by someone.”

Since marijuana legalization in New Jersey, researchers with the National Institutes of Health have reported an uptick in emergency visits linked to cannabis products - many involving accidental ingestion. Health officials stress that a quick double-check of your Halloween candy could prevent a frightening mix-up. They remind families that a treat should never turn into a trip to the emergency room.