Heroin found in with candy at NJ trunk-or-treat

MIDDLE TOWNSHIP — A parent’s worst nightmare. Police in South Jersey say a bag of suspected heroin was found in a child’s Halloween candy haul on Friday.

What’s more shocking is that a deadly drug could make it into a child’s hands during a trunk-or-treat — an event designed to make treat-or-treating safer by having families gather in a parking lot to pass out candy instead of going door to door.

The drug find was reported Saturday morning by police in Middle Township in Cape May County. The Trunk or Treat had been held at the Family Success Center in the township’s Rio Grande section.

“There is only one reported incident, at the time of this release, and it is actively being investigated by the Middle Township Police Patrol and Major Crimes Units,” police said in a message to the community. “We would like to advise parents and guardians to check their children's candy bags thoroughly and contact the police if they discover anything suspicious, harmful or out of the ordinary.

The New Jersey Poison Control Center this week put out its annual warning to parents about the risk of children getting their hands on edible marijuana products, which usually look like regular candy or treats.

While it’s extremely unlikely that anyone would hand out expensive edibles, accidents do happen. Last year an elementary school classroom in Philadelphia got high after accidentally eating a batch of homemade cereal bars laced with marijuana.

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