Q&A With some of the students in WAHS. Kionna Zavala (Freshman), Danielle Arreola (Senior), Mason Ramseyer (Sophomore)
Children often hear their parents asking, “Give me your bag so I can check your candy.” This can be a common practice in some households with parents inspecting the candy for safety.
There are some issues with such cases occurring, namely in Canada. In November 2015, a Winnipeg mother notified the police when she found a sewing needle in her daughter’s Snickers wrapper. In southwestern Ontario, where a child as young as 8 years old spit out a razor blade after chewing his candy bar. Most of these cases don’t result in injuries, but that’s not always the case.
In Portland, Oregon, a 10-year-old girl bit into her mini Hershey’s bar and cut her tongue on a razor blade that was found in the candy. Her injury wasn’t life-threatening. Some individuals may misuse chemicals by adding harmful substances. If such incidents continue, Halloween could become less popular or even banned.
People are advised to check Halloween candy so this event doesn’t occur. There are many ways to spot if your candy has been tampered with, such as discoloration in the candy, tears, or holes, and one of the most important things is to see if the candy isn’t spoiled or unwrapped. If it’s baked goodies, they should most likely be discarded if you do not know the person who has gifted them to you.
WW: Have your parents ever checked your bag of candy or given you the thought that something harmful could have been in it?
Zavala: “Yeah, my mom would take my bag of candy before I got to eat any of it. I would ask her why every year, and she would tell me that someone could have put drugs in it.”
Arreola: “Yes, they have.”
Ramseyer: “They’ve taken my candy, but I don’t know. They always say it’s because they need to check, but I think they just ate some.”
WW: Has anything been harmful in your candy?
Zavala: “No, but one time, I went to a neighborhood I’ve never been to, and I got baked cookies. I got home, and my mom said I could eat them, but [when] I opened the bag, and it reeked of marijuana. So I threw it out.”
Arreola: “No, but my parents have found a suspicious-looking candy. We couldn’t find it online, so we just had to throw that one out.”
Ramseyer: “I found a needle in a Reese’s cup one time. I just threw it away. Now whenever I open a Reese’s cup, I always split them in half.”
WW: What’s your favorite candy?
Zavala: “Definitely Twix. Those are the best.”
Arreola: “Peanut butter cups.”
Ramseyer: “Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups”
