Parents be Warned – Strawberry Quik ain’t what it used to be

The warning about sweetened and flavored forms of methamphetamine began landing in inboxes in April 2007. “Strawberry Quick” (or “Strawberry Quik,” named after Strawberry Quik, a powder used to make flavored milk drinks) was first reported as appearing in the western states in January 2007. (Nevada holds the dubious honor of being the first state the substance was found in; its Department of Public Safety issued a bulletin about flavored meth seized during a 27 January 2007 search of a gang member’s apartment in Carson City.) According to intelligence gathered by drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents from informants, users, local police, and drug counselors, colored meth has also been found in California, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Texas, New Mexico, Missouri, and Minnesota.

One DEA agent reported a red methamphetamine that had been marketed as a powdered form of an energy drink. Says DEA spokesman Steve Robertson, “Drug traffickers are trying to lure in new customers, no matter what their age, by making the meth seem less dangerous.” The colored meth has been described as resembling rock candy or Pop Rocks (a kid-favored confection that fizzles in the mouth), and because it looks like candy, officials fear it may fool children and teens into mistakenly perceiving it as candy (or perceiving it as a drug far less dangerous and addictive than it actually is).

However, while colored versions of methamphetamine that resemble candy are certainly available, the claim that the drug is actually being sold in flavored versions is a subject of some dispute.

Complete facts and details updated regularly via Snopes.com – who has found this rumor to be true, unfortunately.

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