But it is also true that, in retrospect, these fears are usually exaggerated.Norm Yes, things are always changing, and this can always frighten some people. These fears emerge as reflections of current social changes. But American history can be read as a long line of fears about witches, immigrants, drugs, conspirators and so on. Often there is a kernel of truth to these fears. Ask why gang members would attempt to kill motorists who blink their headlights at them – an urban legend from the 1980s – and the response is likely to be, “That’s just the sort of thing those sadistic people do.” It might not make any sense for someone to give a brightly colored opioid pill or THC-infused candy to a small child, but it isn’t impossible, is it? Such reasoning is thought to justify ringing the alarm bells. Of course, the villains in contemporary legends aren’t expected to behave rationally. The suggestion that a school-age kid would go from accidental user of fentanyl to a paying addict is far-fetched. It is not unreasonable to wonder just what a fentanyl dealer’s overarching goal might be if in passing the drug off as candy. One obvious hole in these concerns is that drugs tend to cost more than candy – marijuana edibles, for example, run somewhere in the neighborhood of a dollar or two per dose or more.įentanyl is considerably more expensive. Similarly, in 2019, September reports of deaths caused by vaping black-market THC-infused cartridges were coupled with news that Pennsylvania authorities had confiscated commercial THC candies – supposedly smuggled from a state where they could be purchased legally – to generate another round of Halloween warnings. Yet after Halloween had passed, a department spokesperson admitted, “We are not aware of any cases of children ingesting marijuana candy during Halloween season.” In 2014, the year that Colorado first allowed state-licensed retail sales of recreational marijuana, the Denver Police posted online warnings that parents ought to keep an eye out for THC-laced edible candies in Halloween treats. Trends in recreational or illicit drug use often make the jump to Halloween warnings. Similarly, the 9/11 terrorist attacks led to rumors about Halloween 2001 threats – that there were plans to attack a mall where some parents let their children go trick-or-treating, or that terrorists had purchased massive amounts of candy, presumably so they could poison the treats before distributing them.
Those deaths also led to a dramatic increase in protective packaging for all sorts of products to discourage tampering. Many commentators then warned that parents needed to be extra vigilant when examining Halloween treats. In 1982 there was a spate of Tylenol poisonings – seven people died after purchasing and consuming tampered packages of pills. DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said, “Rainbow fentanyl – fentanyl pills and powder that come in a variety of bright colors, shapes and sizes – is a deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults.” In August 2022, drug enforcement authorities noted that pills containing fentanyl were being manufactured in various colors. This year, reporters began reaching out earlier than usual, in late September, and they wanted to talk about a new alleged threat: “ rainbow fentanyl.” Kids are nextįentanyl is a very powerful synthetic opioid that has caused thousands of overdoses and deaths over the past two decades. They warn that we live in a dangerous world filled with villainous strangers who could harm us if we aren’t careful. They’re tales we’ve all heard, that we’ve been assured are true. Stories about contaminated treats are best understood as contemporary legends. This often surprises people who assume that Halloween sadism is both very real and very common. My data goes back to 1958, and my principal finding is simple: I can’t find any evidence that any child has ever been killed or seriously injured by a contaminated treat picked up in the course of trick-or-treating.
That’s because I track media coverage of reported incidents of trick-or-treaters receiving razor blades in apples or pins and poison in candy bars. ( The Conversation) – Every year around the middle of October, reporters start contacting me wanting to talk about rumors of contaminated Halloween treats.
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