CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Every year, reminders go out from law enforcement about Halloween safety. Concerns rise on the holiday about extra pedestrians out trick-or-treating, and candy that’s been tampered with. But how much of the fear factor should you buy into?

The costumes and decorations should be the only scary parts of Halloween. Unfortunately, some social media posts and even news reports about the prevalence of rainbow-colored drugs have raised concerns about trick-or-treating. According to experts, these posts are a combination of superstition and what should be a healthy level of vigilance. According to the American Addiction Centers, “reports of illicit drugs hidden in candy have been greatly exaggerated.”

“For parents, I wouldn’t let paranoia set in. They need to do their due diligence, same as I would’ve recommended a year ago, or 10 years ago,” Dr. Charles Smith from the American Addiction Centers told NEWS10.

A Facebook post from the Montgomery County Sheriff warns parents of marijuana edibles that have branding similar to real candy. Again, while experts say it’s a rare possibility that someone might purposely sneak something like this into a Halloween bucket, the chance it could happen accidentally exists too. It’s just a matter of checking it all carefully before consumption.

“The likelihood is low, but why not be vigilant,” said Montgomery County Sheriff Jeff Smith, “and why not continue to share that message so we stay on top of it, and we don’t have a young child become a victim of something like this.”

In addition to warnings circulating about candy, law enforcement also wants the public to be aware of the potential dangers out on the roads. Dangers are posed not only by an increased number of pedestrians, but also by an increased number of potential drunk drivers out on the roads.

According to the NHTSA, in 2020, 56 people were killed on Halloween night in drunk-driving crashes. 11 pedestrians were killed in drunk-driving crashes that night.

“Halloween has become sort of an adult holiday,” said Lt. Robert Donnelly from the Colonie Police Department. “It’s become a very popular time to have Halloween costume parties for adults, and there’s typically alcohol at these parties, and sometimes people overindulge. That’s why we send out patrols, and we are going to send them out Friday through Monday.”