It’s Halloween time, and all across the country kids are shining flashlights under their faces, creating eerie shadows across their features.They’re telling their friends about how 40 years ago, a couple of high school students died under mysterious circumstances. Or the story about their ghosts roaming the streets, snatching up souls as they seek revenge on their killer. We all love a good urban legend this time of year, but there is one that needs to die. Parents, no one is putting drugs in Halloween candy.
First of all, drugs are expensive. No one is just passing them out like candy (heh) for free. I don’t care what you learned from the D.A.R.E. program in 5th grade. You and your kid are not getting offered any free drugs.
Secondly, I really struggle to imagine either a drug addict or regular user willingly parting with their stash to get kids high. Especially if they won’t even be around to see the effects.
Look, I know it’s scary. You’re worried about kidnappers and murderers and cars that don’t stop at stop signs. I worry about that last one too when I send my kids out to ride their bikes or scooters. Kidnappers and murderers? Not so much.
Your kids are safe. Honestly.
We have access to an unending feed of news and media. Our phones, TVs, and computers all connect us to the rest of the world, which is pretty cool.
And it’s also freaking us out. We learn about every incident involving a child and it sticks in our brains, no matter how unlikely it is to happen to our own children.
There is far less violent crime than in the early 1990s. From 1997 to 2015, kidnapping of minors have dropped a massive 40%, even though the population of the U.S. grew 30% at the same time.
Kids today are actually safer than their parents and grandparents were.
So what does this have to do with Halloween candy? It’s a pretty good example of how parents are panicking over nonexistent threats.
Drugs in Halloween candy are a myth
Yep, just like those urban legends we used to whisper about during sleepovers, drug-laced Halloween candy is a big ol’ myth.
There has only been one single confirmed case of drugs showing up in Halloween candy. In 1974, a father hoping to cash in on some life insurance money added cyanide to his 8-year-old’s Pixy Stix. The child unfortunately died.
There have been other reports of drugged candy since then. None of them were real.
So I mean statistically, your kid is more likely to get a piece of candy with drugs from you. As long as you don’t intend to purposely poison your kid, I’d say they’re pretty safe this Halloween.
Just enjoy the holiday
Halloween is a great holiday. I love dressing up and decorating. Taking my kids trick-or-treating with their friends is one of my favorite things to do. I don’t spend the holiday panicking over what might be hidden inside a Reese’s wrapper.
It’s true that there have been a few confirmed cases of foreign objects like needles found in candy, but the vast majority are hoaxes spread between kids as urban legends. Sneaking the good pieces of candy after they’re in bed.
So parents, stop freaking out about someone putting drugs in Halloween candy. It’s a myth. A farce. A lie whose ghost haunts the most devilish of nights. So just eat the free candy, watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and enjoy your night. But maybe watch out for spirits seeking revenge.
