Drug Addiction Minnesota: Drug Rehab News – Pushers Target Kids With Candy Flavored Drugs

Some people will argue that marketing is what made America great. Now drug pushers have joined the ranks of marketers to increase sales of their poison to children. According to law enforcement reports, cocaine and methamphetamine is showing up across the country with flavors as diverse as strawberry, coconut, chocolate, peanut butter, cola, cherry, grape and orange. One version even looks like Pop Rocks, the fizz-in-your-mouth candy. How many more young people, who otherwise might never have tried cocaine or meth, will fall victim to addictive drugs just because they’ve been flavored and wind up needing drug rehab?

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), colored/flavored meth has been found in Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Texas, New Mexico, Missouri, Minnesota and California. Acting on a tip last week, deputies in Yolo County, California, right next door to the state capital, arrested six people and seized three pounds of sweetened cocaine flavored with strawberry or coconut. Hollywood gossip web sites are reporting that flavored drugs are exploding on the local club scene. Users are charged a 40-percent premium for it, and pushers are getting their price. It’s too soon to know how many people have been drawn into drug addiction as a result of exposure to these drugs, but it’s only a matter of time until they start showing up for drug rehab.

Some officials are so worried about flavored drugs that a new law has been proposed by U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). Under the new Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act, simply making or possessing candy flavored versions of street drugs would be enough for an arrest that, upon conviction, would carry the same doubled (or tripled for a repeat offense) penalties now handed down to drug dealers who knowingly sell to minors.

With the potential to create addicts ruin lives, disrupt families and lose loved ones to drug addiction or even death, flavored drugs warrant (or any addictive drugs for that matter) should be the subject of some straight talk between parents and their kids. The last thing anyone wants to see is a whole new generation of drug addicts lining up for drug rehab.

But the growing popularity of flavored drugs on the club scene is probably the greatest threat. These are the role models for younger kids, their older brothers and sisters, many of whom are soon to be parents themselves, who are swelling the ranks of the addicted faster than any other group. We need to get them into successful drug rehab programs before they ruin their own lives, and the lives of the families.

Synthetic Drug Bill 3 (KSTP) – News story about recent Minnesota bill on synthetic drugs featuring MnTC residents. Originally aired – March 15, 2012 www.mntc.org

Man Who Burglarized Edina Homes Gets Hefty Prison Sentence

Filed under: Drug Addiction Minnesota

"I hope you get help for your drug addiction during your incarceration and return to community a productive member of society," she said. Like Edina Patch on Facebook | ?Follow us on Twitter | ?Sign up for our daily newsletter. Related Topics: Edina …
Read more on Patch.com

Prescription drug monitoring system running low on funds

Filed under: Drug Addiction Minnesota

Doctors also query the database to determine whether patients are "doctor shopping," or seeking potent drugs from multiple sources to feed an addiction. The attorney general's office is working with health care agencies, grant funders and federal …
Read more on Sacramento Bee

Minnesota bar installs pregnancy test dispenser in women's washroom

Filed under: Drug Addiction Minnesota

She was part of the group that developed the alcohol and pregnancy guidelines with the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, and spent a good part of her clinical career working with women who have addiction issues. "Many women drink …
Read more on Yahoo! Canada Shine On (blog)