Number of Denver Trick-or-Treaters Dosed With Pot Edibles: Zero — Again

Last year, the Denver Police Department and Smart Colorado, an organization concerned about youth access to marijuana, hyped up the possibility of pot edibles being handed out to Halloween trick-or-treaters. Afterward, as we pointed out, the number of reports about such issues topped out at zero — meaning that there...

By Michael Roberts

November 2, 2015

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Last year, the Denver Police Department and Smart Colorado, an organization concerned about youth access to marijuana, hyped up the possibility of pot edibles being handed out to Halloween trick-or-treaters.

Afterward, as we pointed out, the number of reports about such issues topped out at zero — meaning that there were no incidents of individuals passing out THC-enfused sweets to random kids.

This year, as Thomas Mitchell noted, both the DPD and Smart Colorado dialed down the scare tactics (in contrast to an agency in Florida).

For instance, here's a graphic the police shared last year....

...and here's this year's version, which makes no overt allusions to cannabis:

Meanwhile, Smart Colorado is now concentrated on raising the alarm about marijuana potency by asking if pot should now be classified as a hard drug on new billboards in Denver and Boulder.

Did the change in tactics result in a sudden upsurge of pranksters slipping unsuspecting tots pot edibles?

In a word: no.

A DPD spokesperson tells us the department hasn't received any word of any "marijuana edibles ending up in the wrong hands."

As a result, next Halloween could come and go without any warnings about such dangers whatsoever — but probably not.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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