Last week, weed Nerds Rope turned up in Pennsylvania. This week, Massachusetts cops seized over $1 million of pot-infused Wonka Bars and Nerds Rope, while Texas cops seized over 4 pounds of these edibles.

As Halloween approaches, cops across the US are on the lookout for THC-infused candies made to look like regular kid-friendly treats.

In Peabody, Massachusetts, local cops busted two men with over a million dollars’ worth of black market weed last weekend. Prosecutors report that cops seized 119 pounds of raw flower, 6,365 blunts dipped in THC oil, and 4,148 THC-infused edibles. Many of these edibles were packaged to look like regular candy products, including Nerds Ropes, Wonka Bars, Rice Krispie Treats, and Wicked Wormz.

Gary Cioffa, one of the two men arrested in the bust, reportedly lived with his two children at the house where these products were stored. “There are small children that live around here that play with their children,” said neighbor Ann Jwanowski to CBS Boston. “If their kids ever got into that, it could be a tragedy.”

The other man who was arrested, Marco Sosa, was reportedly seen entering the home with a backpack. “It appears the black market is still viable,” Peabody police said, according to CBS. Both men were arraigned this week, and Cioffa is being held on $100,000 cash bail, while Sosa is being held on a bail of $2,500.

Gallery — Edibles That Mimic Real Food Brands and Products: 

Texas cops made a similar bust last Friday, seizing almost 4.5 pounds of edibles and a pound of a flower from a home in Edinburg, Texas. Among the edibles, police reported a number of THC candies, fueling another scare over pot edibles falling into the hands of children.

During the bust, cops arrested 20-year-old Edwin Mercado and charged him with manufacturing and delivery of a controlled substance, which carries a sentence of 5 to 99 years in jail. Mercado was also charged with pot possession, punishable by three months to 2 years in jail.

Throughout the year, black market pot candies have turned up in a wide variety of states. Earlier this month, Pennsylvania police seized bootleg Nerds Rope candies packed with 400mg of THC apiece. And this summer, cops in Kentucky seized another package of “medicated” Nerds Ropes being shipped from California to Florida.

The idea that black market weed dealers would give their lucrative products away to children for free remains as unlikely as ever, but these recent edibles busts have kicked off another wave of panic about parents finding THC-infused tricks amongst their children’s candy treats. In response, police departments across the US and Canada are reminding parents to remain vigilant about their children’s Halloween hauls.

Source link