WTF WREG
I think we need to create a fun new internet game. First, we invent a bunch of wacko conspiracy theories (like illicit drugs being slipped into our prescription medicines or satanic brake lights leading to mild cases of bus-driver possession) and then we post them on Facebook to see if any of these silly fantasies are eventually passed along as news by local TV stations. The more ridiculous, the better. If WREG will run a story like this one, it’s hard to imagine what they won’t report.
According to WREG: “Just three weeks from Halloween, and already, many of you are spooked by a post you saw on Facebook. It asked parents to beware of criminals sneaking drugs disguised as candy into your children’s trick-or-treat basket. The post has been shared hundreds of thousands of times across the country. ‘I really truly believe somebody would do that,’ said Memphis mother of three, Porsha Tate, who saw the post the other day.”
Even imagined as some kind of weird retail promotion for drug dealers, ecstasy can sell for $20 (or more) a pill. That’s quite an investment in Halloween treats. It’s possible that a bunch of young candy-beggars might enjoy the free samples and want to spend their allowance on more trippy stuff, but mom and dad still have to drive them for a fix. A police raid seems more likely. Besides, anybody who knows their MDMA knows there have always been whimsically stamped variations to bring out the inner child in even the most buttoned-up rave kid.
There is a long history of Halloween-related media scares and hoaxes ranging from poisoning to sharp objects in apples and other unwrapped items. This seems to be the latest iteration of the same urban myth.