A 63-year-old man and 53-year-old woman were arrested after Winnipeg police said they handed out cannabis candies to trick-or-treaters on Monday.
Over a dozen reports about the candies came from a small area in the south Tuxedo neighbourhood, a news release said. The children who received the candies ranged from six to 16 years old.
“I’m upset that it happened, as a parent,” Winnipeg police Const. Dani McKinnon said at a news conference Wednesday. “As a police officer, unfortunately, I’m not surprised.”
The packages say they contain 600 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — the main psychoactive property of marijuana. The maximum THC amount for edibles in Canada is 10 milligrams per package.
The candies were all found inside zipped sandwich bags along with full-sized chocolate bars, police said. No children were harmed, McKinnon said.
Testing the candies for THC will take a while but investigators believe the candies are in fact THC gummies. The gummies appeared to be “exact replicas” of the popular Nerds rope candies, she said, and more parents are expected to report receiving them.
Investigators believe no one was intentionally targeted but motives are still unknown, McKinnon said.
“I don’t think that we are going to be able to provide anything really concrete today.”
WATCH | Winnipeg police Const. Dani McKinnon gives update on arrests:
Winnipeg police give an update on the cannabis candies handed out to trick-or-treaters on Halloween night.
Police searched a home near the south end of Coleraine Crescent, where the man and woman were taken into custody, the release said.
The two accused are expected to face 13 counts each of distributing cannabis to minors, distributing illegal cannabis, causing bodily harm by negligence, and administering a noxious thing with the intent of endangering life.
Social media saves the day
Four packages of the THC candies were recovered as police spoke to more impacted families. Investigators intend to speak with more people and may recover additional packages of the candy, the news release said.
“What I can say is that I’m really glad that the community worked so quickly,” McKinnon said, with social media having a positive impact on the case.
Jocelyn Cordeiro posted about the candies on social media Monday to warn other parents about the edibles. The Winnipeg mother was horrified when her nine-year-old daughter found one of the packages of THC candy in her Halloween bag on Monday night.
“It just looked like a package of candy,” she told CBC on Tuesday.
Both of the accused were released on a promise to appear in court, the news release said.
A child in Richmond, B.C., was hospitalized and later released after a similar candy was among their Halloween treats, RCMP there said Monday.
Before the Wednesday news conference, police received one report of a small chocolate bar in North Kildonan that had a sharp object inside, McKinnon said.
The incident is unrelated to the THC candies, she said, but a good reminder for parents to check their kids’ Halloween treats.
“Every year, unfortunately, the police service does receive one or two reports similar to this.”