Police warn parents to check for THC-laced Halloween candy

Police around the country always remind parents to double-check their children’s Halloween candy to ensure sweets are safe to eat.

But this trick-or-treat season, authorities in Pennsylvania are urging moms and dads to be extra diligent after discovering THC-laced “Nerds Ropes” that look nearly identical to the Willy Wonka treat, CBS Pittsburgh reports.

The Johnstown Police Department found “Nerds Rope edibles containing 400mg of THC” in Stoneycreek Township during a search warrant, according to a Facebook post.

Police included photos of the drug-laced edibles labeled as “Nerds Rope,” along with a warning message for parents as the holiday approaches.

“This Halloween, we urge parents to be ever vigilant in checking their children’s candy before allowing them to consume those treats,” the department wrote. “Drug-laced edibles are packaged like regular candy and may be hard to distinguish from the real candy.”

Last year, several incidents of candy spiked with drugs were reported across the globe. A 5-year-old boy in Ohio was hospitalized after eating candy which tested positive for methamphetamines, while a British mom discovered a bag of ecstasy pills that looked like candy in her 5-year-old daughter’s trick-or-treating bag.

DEA officials in St. Louis cautioned parents last year to be especially vigilant in checking for candies with different names after discovering marijuana-laced sweets with names like Munchy Way, 3 Rastateers, twixed, Keef Kat and Rasta Reese’s.

It isn’t just kids who are at risk, either. Two parents in Oregon were rushed to the hospital after consuming meth-laced gummy candy, which resembled Sour Patch Kids, swiped from their children’s Halloween stash.