Cannabis candies were ‘inadvertent’ Halloween handout, woman says

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This article was published 28/09/2023 (711 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg woman has admitted to “inadvertently” dishing out cannabis-laced candies to trick-or-treaters last Halloween.

Tammy Sigurdur appeared before a provincial court judge Thursday afternoon and pleaded guilty to one charge each of supplying cannabis to a young person and possessing cannabis that is not packed, labelled and stamped, offences under the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act.

In a voice barely above a whisper and trembling with emotion, Sigurdur replied “Yes” when asked by her lawyer Saul Simmonds if she accepted responsibility for “inadvertently providing the items last Halloween.”

“I can advise the court that we are in the process of dealing with some very significant personal issues,” Simmonds told provincial court Judge Julie Frederickson before asking that the case be adjourned for the preparation and gathering of sentencing materials and reports.

“The matter is delicate and we are dealing with it the best we can,” Simmonds said.

Sigurdur’s next court date is Oct. 18.

The Tuxedo resident and her husband, Sheldon Chochinov, were arrested Nov. 1, one day after police received complaints from several parents who said that among the items their children returned home with on Halloween night were Nerds Rope candies that each contained 600 mg of THC.

THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

The candies appeared to be professionally packaged and, on superficial viewing, looked similar to conventional candy products.

None of the children, aged from six to 16, who reported receiving the candies had eaten them, police said at the time.

Search-warrant documents allege Chochinov contacted his lawyer after seeing a police media alert about the incident and disclosed that “the two ran out of candy on Halloween night and distributed the THC candy from their personal ‘stash.’”

“Chochinov disclosed… that this was a mistake made when under the influence and both he and his wife regretted what they had done,” the search warrant alleged.

“Chochinov disclosed… that this was a mistake made when under the influence and both he and his wife regretted what they had done.”–Search warrant

According to search-warrant documents, police found several packages of regular candy near the front door, suggesting the drug candies “(were) not distributed as a result of a rushed last-minute mistake, but instead criminal negligence and lack of proper care being taken.”

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In an email to the Free Press last February, Chochinov’s lawyer Evan Roitenberg said the couple did not intentonally distribute the drug-laced candy to children.

“At no time did either party know that there were drugs included with candy handed out on Halloween,” Roitenberg said.

“When they became aware on Nov. 1, they contacted our office for the purpose of facilitating their doing the right thing: alerting the police and advising them that the candy came from their home. This was not an intentional act.”

Court records show Chochinov still faces more than a dozen charges in connection to the incident. His next court date is Oct. 12.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca

Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter

Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean.

Every piece of reporting Dean produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.