A 53-year-old woman and a 63-year-old man were arrested after Winnipeg police searched a home on Coleraine Crescent in South Tuxedo. It comes after more than a dozen families reported that children aged between six and 16 found edibles in their bags in candy-like packaging. While it’s not known if any children in Winnipeg have actually eaten the edibles, parents with children who went trick-or-treating on the street said it was a terrifying ordeal. “It’s very scary. The very thought is very scary,” said Aditi Pandey, whose 13-year-old twins were trick-or-treating on the street where investigators believe the cannabis candies were handed out. “If something like this is happening, we are not safe. We are not safe, the children are not safe.” The gummies came in colorful packaging similar to a sweet treat, but the “Medicated Nerds Rope Bites” are labeled as a potent THC-infused edible, which can be harmful to children. Pandey checked her children’s bags after receiving a tip from their school and found nothing in their Halloween bags. The two adults who were taken into custody now face 13 counts of criminally negligent infliction of bodily harm, 13 counts of harmful act with intent to endanger life or bodily harm, 13 counts of distribution of cannabis to a young person and 13 counts of distribution of illegal cannabis . Investigators said at this point it is unclear why the edibles were given away. “They’re still working on what the motive might be,” said Const. Dani McKinnon, public information officer with the Winnipeg Police Service. “I know that’s not what you want to hear. I think the community as a whole wants a clear answer.” Officers said they have taken four packages of the product into their possession and have made arrangements with the other victims to take the rest. Police said the gum should be sent to Health Canada for testing. “It’s a very long process to get the results back on it,” McKinnon said. “But the researchers believe, with the evidence they’ve received, that it’s actually THC gum.” George Smitherman, President and CEO of the Cannabis Council of Canada, which represents licensed growers and processors, said the products sold on the legal market come in plain, child-resistant packaging in stark contrast to the chewing gum sold in Winnipeg. “Very limited branding and certainly not with products or packaging designed to mimic candy to attract kids,” Smitherman said. Police said the THC candies given out in Winnipeg did not meet Canadian labeling requirements, but they are not sure where they came from. The packages state that the product contains 600 milligrams of THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis. That’s 60 times more than what’s allowed in legal edibles that can be purchased in retail cannabis stores by people over the age of 19 in most provinces and territories, including Manitoba. Pandey is happy that the edibles given out on Halloween were quickly spotted by parents. “I wouldn’t have really checked the candy bags because I would never doubt anyone that they would give something like that to kids,” Pandey said. The two adults arrested were released on a promise to appear under the Criminal Code. They have not yet been formally charged. Winnipeg police said more people who received the edibles are likely to come forward and continue to advise parents and guardians to check their children’s candy. Anyone else who discovers a similar packaged product is asked to contact the WPS Major Crimes Unit at 204-986-6219.
