Blacknbengal
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Drug dealers peddling new kid-friendly mixes
Meth, heroin laced with candy and strawberry flavoring to appeal to youth
'Cheese' heroin is shown wrapped in school notebook paper. Cheese heroin is a mixture of black tar heroin, a less refined form of the drug, and ground up Tylenol PM.
Updated: 3:42 p.m. ET May 8, 2007
DALLAS - In their quest to lure new, younger clientele, drug dealers are mixing their wares with over-the-counter pain remedies and other familiar products ? even candy ? and peddling them under non-threatening names.
One such concoction, a blend of black tar heroin and Tylenol PM that goes by the name ?cheese,? has been linked to the deaths of 19 teenagers in Dallas, including two 15-year-olds.
?If you?re a drug dealer you have to target a new audience all the time,? said Garrison Courtney, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman. ?It?s Marketing 101 for drug dealers.?
Examples of the drug-mixing strategy also include candy laced with marijuana and, in several states, flavored methamphetamine. In Arkansas recently, a mix of meth and strawberry-flavored powder normally used to create a children?s milk drink turned up under the name ?Strawberry Quick.?
?They?re calling it ?cheese,? they?re not calling it ?heroin,?? said Dr. Collin Goto, a toxicologist at Children?s Medical Center Dallas. ?It becomes much more appealing to younger kids because it doesn?t have the stigma, they?re not as afraid to get started.?
Dallas school district police first became aware of the heroin-mixing trend in 2005, and its become a disturbing local phenomenon since.
?Cheese is just a different makeup for mixing with heroin, but it?s still heroin,? said Dr. Jeffrey Barnard, chief medical examiner for Dallas County. ?It?s the heroin that?s the problem.?
The latest meth cut, known as "Strawberry Quick," uses a powdered drink mix to give the drug a pink coloring. The sweetness of the powder can make meth more palatable and partially masks its harsh chemical taste.
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Meth, heroin laced with candy and strawberry flavoring to appeal to youth
'Cheese' heroin is shown wrapped in school notebook paper. Cheese heroin is a mixture of black tar heroin, a less refined form of the drug, and ground up Tylenol PM.
Updated: 3:42 p.m. ET May 8, 2007
DALLAS - In their quest to lure new, younger clientele, drug dealers are mixing their wares with over-the-counter pain remedies and other familiar products ? even candy ? and peddling them under non-threatening names.
One such concoction, a blend of black tar heroin and Tylenol PM that goes by the name ?cheese,? has been linked to the deaths of 19 teenagers in Dallas, including two 15-year-olds.
?If you?re a drug dealer you have to target a new audience all the time,? said Garrison Courtney, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman. ?It?s Marketing 101 for drug dealers.?
Examples of the drug-mixing strategy also include candy laced with marijuana and, in several states, flavored methamphetamine. In Arkansas recently, a mix of meth and strawberry-flavored powder normally used to create a children?s milk drink turned up under the name ?Strawberry Quick.?
?They?re calling it ?cheese,? they?re not calling it ?heroin,?? said Dr. Collin Goto, a toxicologist at Children?s Medical Center Dallas. ?It becomes much more appealing to younger kids because it doesn?t have the stigma, they?re not as afraid to get started.?
Dallas school district police first became aware of the heroin-mixing trend in 2005, and its become a disturbing local phenomenon since.
?Cheese is just a different makeup for mixing with heroin, but it?s still heroin,? said Dr. Jeffrey Barnard, chief medical examiner for Dallas County. ?It?s the heroin that?s the problem.?
The latest meth cut, known as "Strawberry Quick," uses a powdered drink mix to give the drug a pink coloring. The sweetness of the powder can make meth more palatable and partially masks its harsh chemical taste.
Rest of Story
