‘Candied’ crystal meth sold at primary schools
Strawberry Quick, a pink drug concealed in what looks like a candy straw, is being sold to underage children at primary schools in Gauteng.
A candy-flavoured form of one of the most addictive, brain-damaging drugs — crystal methamphetamine (meth) — exists and vendors are selling it to primary school learners in Gauteng, the Anti Drug Alliance SA (Adasa) has warned.
Strawberry Quick, a pink drug concealed in what looks like a candy straw, has been sold to underage children at a number of private schools in the greater Johannesburg area, Adasa said in a statement on Thursday.
“At this stage we are working day and night in alliance with a number of sources to establish which schools have been targeted,” Adasa said.
Samples tested contained 30 percent of crystal meth mixed with food colouring, flavouring and sugar.
“It has been established that there are a number of different flavours and each flavour has a different potency.”
Apparently more packets of sherbet laced with amounts of cocaine were also being sold in Johannesburg and Adasa said one child had already been rushed to hospital after ingesting this sherbet.
Adasa said it had been “completely inundated” with calls from concerned parents following an insert on Carte Blanche on 25 January in which it was established that Strawberry Quick was indeed a drug that existed.
Carte Blanche reported that Wikipedia and other drug sources on the internet had slated these warnings as nonsense and that in the eight years since the rumour had started, there had been no proof that it actually existed.
It appeared the drug had not yet surfaced in Pretoria, school principals said this week.
Laerskool Lynnwood principal Steve Stolk was aware of the drug, but said none of his pupils had fallen victim to it. Stolk said vendors were not allowed near the school.
He said in his 12 years as principal, there might have been two or three occasions where vendors tried to sell sweets and chips at the school.
“I immediately asked them to show me their vendor licences, which they did not have. I told them to leave as the police would be called to remove them.”
Stolk said the school had a security guard on duty at the gate and a security firm patrolling the area.
Frik Greyling, principal at Laerskool Voorpos in the Moot, said he was also aware of the drug.
He said the local community policing forum (CPF) and police regularly kept schools informed of new drug trends. Schools also shared information.
“We do not allow vendors to sell their products near the school and as a safety precaution, teachers regularly talk to learners in classes to inform them about criminal activity in the area,” he said.
Hettie Smith, principal at Laerskool Danie Malan, north of Pretoria, said she had also heard about the drug.
“We have regular talks with our learners about drug issues in the area and once a year we arrange for a precautionary bust at the school to ensure drugs do not find its way inside.”
Smith said no vendors were allowed around the school.
Signs or symptoms your child might have after consuming the drug:
– Heart palpitations.
– Extreme chattiness and hyper activity not normal for your child.
– Dilated pupils.
– Dry mouth or consuming a lot of liquids.
– Dizziness.
– Listlessness.
– Rapid mood swings or paranoia.
– Little or no sleep after consuming the sweets.
The following information is required should you contact Adasa:
– Your name and contact details,
– The school’s name,
– If at all possible, a sample of the sweet.
Adasa urged parents to be on the lookout for these and similar looking sweets.
“Should you have any information that can lead to the arrest of a dealer or manufacturer of these sweets, we urge you to contact (us) on 081-577-7715 or info@antidrugalliance.com or visit the website at www.antidrugalliance.com.”
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