Bold Item News Flash

(09-27) 11:41 PDT OAKLAND - Four people were charged in Oakland federal court today with growing marijuana that became the not-so-secret ingredient in treats resembling popular candy bars and other packaged food, including barbecue sauce.

Authorities say the four were connected with an operation known as Tainted Inc. that made marijuana-laced candies, cookies, ice cream, peanut butter, barbecue sauce, granola bars and brownies.

"Tainting candy and other products with marijuana is not sweet, it is criminal," said Javier Pena, special agent in charge of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in San Francisco. "These items could have harmful effects on a user, especially the unsuspecting ones."

Authorities said Tainted Inc. grew from a small outfit that cooked marijuana leaves in butter for chocolate truffles into a large enterprise that supplied marijuana-laced candies to cannabis clubs in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver and Amsterdam.

Over the past two years, Tainted Inc. ordered nearly four tons of chocolate from suppliers, investigators said. Its candies and other food items sold for $2.50 to $20 apiece, depending on the strength of the product, authorities said.

The investigation bears similarities to DEA raids in Oakland last year in which five people connected with a company called Beyond Bomb were convicted of making marijuana-laced treats with names like Buddahfingers, Munchy Way, Rasta Reece's and Puff-a-Mint Pattie.