Pubdate: Sat, 17 May 2014
Source: Taranaki Daily News (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2014 Fairfax New Zealand Limited
Contact:  http://www.thedailynews.co.nz/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1056
Author: Michele Ong
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

'CANDY' A METH MYTH SAY POLICE

Police have moved to reassure Taranaki parents that drug dealers are 
not targeting their children with candy flavoured methamphetamine.

Mangorei School's May newsletter included a warning to parents about 
Strawberry Quik which "looks and smells like strawberry Pop Rocks".

"They are calling it strawberry meth or strawberry quick," the newsletter read.

"Kids are ingesting this thinking it is candy and being rushed to the 
hospital. It also comes in chocolate, peanut butter, cola, cherry, 
grape and orange."

Principal Michael Carr said the school was approached by a number of 
concerned parents regarding the issue.

"We now know it's not true," Carr said. "We didn't know at the time 
of printing the newsletter but we thought we'd be proactive and get 
it out there."

Central Districts police field crime manager Detective Inspector 
Keith Borrell yesterday told the Taranaki Daily News the information 
was a hoax.

"We want to reassure the public that there is no evidence of this 
Strawberry Quik methamphetamine and that it is being distributed to 
children," Borrell said.

He said the hoax is believed to have originated in the United States 
in 2007 and first appeared in New Zealand about 2010.

The drug scare again surfaced in August last year.

"It's unsubstantiated and there has been no evidence of flavoured 
methamphetamine and that it's being targeted to the supply of young children."

Borrell urged anyone with information about the sale and supply of 
illegal drugs to immediately contact police or Crimestoppers.

Carr also said the school had since been directed to a police press 
release debunking the myth around strawberry meth.

"We will explain this in our next newsletter," he said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom