Sgt. Paul McCurbin of Durham Region police said the cases all involve small boxes given out on Halloween. He said there was no evidence of tampering, "except that cold medication was found inside."
In further weirdness, it seems that in Canada Smarties are made of chocolate and have nothing to do with the Smarties we're used to -- which, of course, look exactly like drugs. For example:
Durham Regional police launched their investigation upon reports from a young girl who found a tablet of medicine among her treats, according to a news release issued Friday.
The girl, Dhymone Williams, told CBC News she discovered the orange pill inside a small, sealed box of Smarties she received on Halloween night.
"I knew it wasn't a Smartie because I know that Smarties are round and they have chocolate in it, and that one I could see right through it," she said.
You do learn something every day, don't you?
Cold medication discovered in Halloween candy [CBC]
More cold medication found in Smarties [Star]
Sorry to say, but you're wrong.
Proof from the Postal Company's mouth:
Extreme love, a Canadian, eh!
Sorry for the late reply.
]]>@Jim (The Canuck One): That usually doesn't make a difference. Use of a name, for whatever the reason, is usually enough.
I think there was a lawsuit. My husband, who is Canadian, may have mentioned this, but I tuned out when he started saying they were better. Comparing apples and oranges...
]]>Love, a Californian
]]>I find it most disturbing that someone at the factory possibly poured meds into the smarty machine. What if they hadnt used the large, clear, dayquil and had used something a lot smaller and easily eaten? like viagra. or E.
Now THAT would be disturbing.
]]>I haven't had Smarties in a very long time (I'm allergic to chocolate), but last time I had them they were in rectangular cardboard boxes, only the minis were in tubes. Has this changed?
]]>@Oranges w/ Cheese: This is true. M&M's are also made with darker chocolate, while Canadian & British Smarties are made with milk chocolate.
]]>@karmaghost: The Canadian ones are not flavoured according to colour. They all just taste like delicious candy-coated chocolate.
When you eat your Smarties do you eat the red ones last?...
The sugary pellet things are called Rockets in Canada. I like them, and they fizz when you drop them in soda pop!
]]>Smarties, Aero Bars, Jersey Milk, Ketchup Old Dutch chips (or any Canadian chips; the US is about 20 years behind on the invention of "flavor"); French-fries you have to eat with a fork smothered in ketchup and vinegar, or poutine.
]]>Plus, they had to have been dropped in after any kind of processing. If they were dropped in before, they would have been melted, cooked, or candy coated.
Since they were dropped in after processing and before packaging, they must have been taken out of their own packaging. If the emp just dropped his box in, they'd be finding the box instead of the individual candies. If there was a process after the drop point that had the capability of tearing the medicine from the packaging, the candy and the medicine would also be torn up.
Just my brain wanting to work through the puzzle. Surely many of my assumptions could be disproved.
]]>@karmaghost: Yes they did. It is more environmentally friendly. Lousy green bastards!
@trujunglist: They do taste slightly different They are quite good if you want a sugar high and make a nifty photographic prop:
American smarties are not rubbish and they are not just sugar pills. They have flavoring, although it is probably not that noticeable when you stick all of them in your mouth at once after eating a ton of other sugary candies. I find them to be quite tasty when I steal them from kids on Halloween.
]]>Your attention to these details was far more disturbing than anything else that has been said thus far.
]]>You're being short-changed, people! Write to congress!
]]>@jaydez: We do, they're just sold as Rockets in Canada.
]]>Several years ago I received a recall letter from Costco. The letter stated that an employee at the plant where Steakhouse Chili was made lost a pocket calculator into the meat grinder & a batch was recalled.
I never saw any pieces of the calculator as I had eaten five of the six cans already. Costco gave me a full refund for all six cans even though I only had the one to return.
Top: American "Smarties" - these are absolute rubbish since they are just basically sugar pills with food colouring. Ironically, they are made in Canada.
Middle: Canadian Smarties - these are properly made by Nestlé and are the proper candy coated milk chocolate. Sadly they are not in a proper tube.
Bottom: British Smarties - these are properly made by Nestlé and are the proper candy coated milk chocolate. They are in a hex tube which is a bit more environmentally responsible than the old tubes with the plastic tops, but they aren't as good for reclosing.
]]>(yeah! a Canadian story!)
]]>This is just another of the benefits of socialized medicine. Free candy with your medications.
]]>They are kinda like oversized M&Ms, but have (in my opinion) a creamier tastes. I know that Mars made "Mega M&M's" in the USA back in 2005, but I don't think that they caught on. Not sure if they tasted the same as Canadian Smarties.
]]>@nagumi: American "Smarties" are similar to the Canadian candy "Rockets".
]]>Also, where can I get some of these? I've got both a chocolate craving and a nasty cold.
]]>I'm still confused with how they get away with using a really similar font to write HERSHEY!
]]>At the very least, the internet TLD is .ca for Canada. .cn is China. [en.wikipedia.org]
]]>I bought (and took) DayQuil a while ago and it made me drowsy as heck.
They may have changed the formulation since then, because when I look at their website I don't see any active ingredients which would normally cause drowsiness.
On the other hand, your comment "Whats (sic) wrong with that?" is kind of disturbing to me.
]]>Yes, I am WELL aware of Hershey's ice cream. Great stuff. And yes, they are required to have that tag line. Funny.
]]>I don't see how underwear helps in this situation.
]]>@LindsayC: doctoral hilarity ensues: if it's the nestles' chocolate they use in the crunch bar then it's pretty damn good choclate IMO.
]]>@Murph1908: I don't think they are really profiting, unless it's off vengeance.
]]>Sounds like a bonus to me, DayQuill costs more than candy so you're getting more for your money....although if its holloween candy its free anyway.
]]>Crazy Canadians and their flappy heads! :)
]]>@Aeroracere: LOL-eh-pops!
]]>@parad0x360: I do too. Because it will mean that consumerist is still around.
]]>Mmm Canadian Smarties... way better than M&Ms. Though, I do also like American Smarties.
]]>They beat the pants off of American Smarties.
]]>I grew up in this region. As creepy as this is, hopefully it is an isolated case, and further proof that you shouldn't let your kids trick-or-treat in that neighbourhood that's near the nuke plant...
]]>1. Shoplift several boxes (or get help from friend inside a drug store).
2. Drop the pills into the stock heading to the packager.
3. ????
4. Profit.
]]>I remember that was such a huge scare and everyone blamed pepsi as there were literally hundreds of reported cases, then the first guy came forward and admitted it was a hoax and low and behold, it turned out everyone else was a copy cat.
Anyways these stories always remind me of that one.
]]>@nagumi: There is a chocolate smarite?
]]>@NYYSI: There are two Hershey's companies, too--one makes ice cream, one makes chocolate and candy. I always laugh when I see Hershey's ice cream, they are apparently required to put a little tagline saying "not affiliated with Milton Hershey" (or something similar) on their products.
]]>Thats weird... out US Smarties are made in Canada! How come our neighbors to the north done get to enjoy them?
]]>Every time I go to Canada I bring some back. Tasty.
]]>@cjones27: Only here in the US, I guess. I never knew there was another type. It's probably a completely different candy by a completely different manufacturer than the one we're used to.
]]>See, I was thinking the Day Quil pills were actually coated in chocolate. Now THAT would be...weird.
]]>Oh god, not the Smarties! I get those in care packages from relatives in Ireland! Next it will be the Mars bars! WHERE IS THE JUSTICE IN THIS WORLD?!
]]>