KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There's joy in finding your favorite candy bar during trick-or-treating adventures.
But before your child dives into that candy, there are a few candy safety tips to be mindful of.
Molly Pellettiere is the substance use program coordinator at Saint Luke’s Crittenton Children’s Center.
She says she'd treat Halloween like we have been for the past two decades, establishing those common sense candy safety rules before heading out.
"You need to go through your kid's candy," Pellettiere said. "Look and make sure everything’s wrapped properly."
Missouri is now a legalized state for recreational marijuana, Pellettiere says while she isn't too concerned about this being a major issue, she does want parents and teenagers to be aware.
"When you’re talking about the edible THC products, their labels are not the same as the actual candy labels and so if you’re looking at the candy, you would definitely know that this was not nerds or regular gummy bears. It would look different," Pelletiere said. "I would have a conversation with them not to eat any of their stuff until they get home, that I need to look through it and then when you do look through it, you want to make sure that everything is wrapped. I would not take anything that’s homemade. And when you’re looking at the wrappings, while I don’t think it’ll be a huge concern, you want to make sure that it’s labeled as the candy you are looking for."
Pellettiere's biggest concern is Halloween parties for teenagers and young adults.
"I’m concerned of them getting ahold of something that they think is one thing and it really isn’t," Pellettiere said.
Her biggest piece of advice is not taking any prescriptions from anyone, other than their own personal prescription. It's a conversation she has with her clients regularly.
"We just talk about how you shouldn’t take any pills whatsoever, even if you think they are a real prescription, because these pills that are coming, have stamps on them that make them look like the prescription pill. And it’s very difficult to tell the difference between the two," Pellettiere said. "They have manufacturer labels on them that make them look almost exactly like the real prescription drugs and we have seen so many tragic stories about accidental overdoses and that’s a huge concern for me — Halloween and all the time, really."
Pellettierre said if you do suspect someone is using or taking pills, have naloxone on standby.
"You want to go get Narcan from the pharmacy and keep it handy. And it’s be better to have it there and never ever have to use it then to not have it," she said. "It’s a lifesaver and a game changer and it isn’t anything people should be ashamed of getting."
Pellettiere also highlighted not drinking and driving, and making sure teenagers don't have access to environments where drinking is permitted.
"I think it's important for parents to know is that giving children permission to drink or use in your home is not going to keep them safe. All that that does is give them an extra place to drink or use," Pellettiere said. "It doesn't mean they're gong to confine their use to your house."
For other Halloween safety tips, click here.
