The scare of Strawberry Quick was first noticed in the Indian schools in 2010
Parents are asked to make their children aware of the deadly drug which is laced with methamphetamine.Narcotics department is aware about the comeback of candy drugs in schools.Police and Narcotic teams are working to nab the peddlers
If your children have a sweet tooth, it’s time to re-teach them an age old lesson: Don’t take candy from strangers, or even schoolmates.
Precaution is paramount as Strawberry Quick has made a comeback to the Capital.
The drugs look like pop rocks – a type of sweet that fizzles in the mouth, according to reports.
The strawberry-flavoured methamphetamine, or meth, is targeted at youngsters.
Several city schools have warned parents about this new drug trend and the vulnerability of their kids.
The information has also been pasted on notice boards. The issue has become a hot topic among parents and is being widely discussed on WhatsApp groups and other social networking sites.
The tasty candy with a wicked coating had emerged as a grim challenge for city schools and cops less than a decade ago, but had then apparently fizzled out over the years.
‘I was unaware about the candy drug, but after receiving three similar messages on different WhatsApp groups, I took it seriously and instructed my son to be cautious about it,’ said Rakesh Malhotra, a businessman who lives in south Delhi’s Greater Kailash area.
His son studies in a prominent city school. Methamphetamine is an extremely addictive stimulant drug that takes the form of a white, odourless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder.
It can be taken orally, smoked, snorted, or dissolved in water or alcohol and injected.
Smoking or injecting the drug delivers it very quickly to the brain, where it produces an immediate, intense euphoria.
Because the pleasure also fades quickly, users often take repeated doses, in a ‘binge and crash’ pattern.
Drug peddlers who are targeting children, have come up with several other flavours such as chocolate, hazelnut cocoa and peanut butter.
Speaking to Mail Today, a top official in the narcotics department said the agency is aware about the comeback of candy drugs in schools and traps are being laid to nab the peddlers.
Bitter sweet
‘Also, after learning about the arrival of Strawberry quick, we are planning to issue an advisory to schools to beware of such activities near their premises,’ he said.
‘Apart from Strawberry Quick, Halloween candy drugs have also entered the schools.’
‘These basically contain ecstasy and can kill kids through overdoses.’
Police have in the recent past seized coloured versions of crystal meth that resemble candy.
Peddlers buy raw methamphetamine and mephedrone to manufacture flavourful candies that appeal to children.
In 2015, Narcotics Control Bureau seized 3.05 kg of mephedrone and 370 gm of methamphetamine in Delhi.
Data about the seizures in 2016 have not been compiled yet.
After learning about the drug candies, schools have been instructing parents to advise their children, their friends and other students not to accept candy from strangers as this could be an attempt to draw children into drug use.
They need to be cautious in accepting candy even from friends who may be unaware of the dangers.
Meenakshi Sinha, whose child studies in a posh Delhi school said: ‘Children’s education has become a headache for them as well as parents nowadays.’
‘Parents are already depressed because of various threats and security issues. Now the arrival of candy drugs has increased the worries tenfold.’
Experts say parents should take notice and act if a child’s grades drop, he loses interest in the activities he once loved, if he changes friends, or if he starts to have trouble at school.
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