Everybody Panic: Halloween Candy is Coming to Kill Your Children
Imagine an annual Halloween tradition that embodies, fear, paranoia and irrational anxiety based on absolute nonsense. But this tradition is not driven by the imaginations of children, rather it’s the adults who revel in and perpetuate this nonsensical fear. The fear of candy.
Every October, excited children roam neighborhoods seeking their sugar fix. They dress up in silly or scary costumes, binge eat sugary treats, watch horror movie marathons, and tell one another ridiculous and fun ghost stories. These whimsical behaviors are a delightful part of our culture where kids can be silly, carefree, and revel in the magic of childhood. During adulthood, these innocent Halloween ceremonies transform to morbid irrational anxiety about a fictitious boogeyman tale spread through news outlets and social media.
With age, the joyful traditions of youth give way to the responsibilities of adulthood. Trick or treating becomes a fond memory as social norms require that we stop our silliness and our bodies are less efficient at tolerating sugar binges. Instead, we chaperone our own children as they experience the magic we left behind. Yet, one aspect of the Halloween remains – the thrill of horror stories. We have created the new boogeymen of drug laced Halloween candies being handed out to our unsuspecting children. These stories are more removed from reality than the nonsensical sugar induced ghost stories our children are telling one another when they are supposed to be sleeping. Halloween exemplifies how our outlandish horror stories morph from childhood to adulthood, and how we often use stories about drugs to scare ourselves.
These annual stories warning parents to scrutinize Halloween candy for drugs are common, yet they lack a factual basis. Dr. Joel Best, a distinguished sociologist at the University of Delaware, has examined this phenomenon for over three decades, finding no concrete evidence to support these claims. Law enforcement agencies across the country echo this sentiment, asserting the absence of credible threats. Still, like clockwork, these stories resurface each Halloween, shedding light on our societies most valuable currency: Fear.
But there's more to these stories than meets the eye. They provide a fascinating glimpse into the ebb and flow of our drug trends. As demand for specific drugs rises, so does their presence in the black market, providing fodder for various fear-based media campaigns. When methamphetamine dominates, tales of meth-laced Halloween candies proliferate; in the era of opioids, stories of heroin or Fentanyl-tainted treats emerge. As cannabis products are slowly legalized, the stories of cannabis edibles being given to children follow.
I share this anecdote not just to demystify the Halloween candy phenomenon but also to prompt reflection on the narratives we accept without question. It is a stark reminder of our society's main currency—fear—and how easily it can be leveraged.
