All trick and no treat, when there's pot in the candy
Halloween is scary enough for parents, but what agents found at a home in Conroe makes it more frightening.
It looks like candy, but it contains a potent form of marijuana. Liuetenant Brady Fitzgerald says there are two issues of concern: "If a child sees what appears to be candy, they can eat it not knowing that there are narcotics inside the candy, the second thing is the way it's packaged and promoted, obviously it's being promoted as candy, so what target audience are they looking at?"
While executing a search warrant, members of the Montgomery and Waller county joint "HIDTA" or "high intensity drug trafficking area" initiative, found large quantities of hydroponic marijuana, and the pot-laced candy, after receiving information that it was mailed to the residence, from California.
Fitzgerald says there was "a large quantity of hydroponic marijuana, it turned into a felony, which is a large quantity of marijuana and then of course the edible candy that has the T-H-C in it was also with that shipment."
The home's owner, Terry Keith Wendt, was arrested and charged with manufacturing delivery of a controlled substance, and additonal charges for being a felon in possession of marijuana, and a firearm. Investigators say hydroponic marijuana is highly-concentrated, which is a concern, because young people in Montgomery County have suffered an alarming number of drug overdoses.
"We have had several deaths as a result of young people," says Fitzgerald, "either ingesting, or taking narcotics."
Neighbors say they had grown suspicious, after seeing an unusual number of deliveries to the home from U-P-S trucks.