Tampabay.com
FEBRUARY 07, 2008

Candy-flavored meth and marijuana gumballs

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has joined forces with the Florida Association of School Resource Officers to warn parents and educators about an "alarming trend" of flavored drugs circulating around the country, luring younger children.

According to the press release:

Methamphetamine with added flavors was first noticed on the West Coast, but is rapidly making its way across the country. Flavors can include strawberry, chocolate, cola and others. The flavoring reduces the bitter taste of the drug and does not affect the potency of the drug. Children may mistake the drug for candy pop rocks.

"This a grave problem and shows to what lengths drug dealers will go," Robert Tricquet, president of the Florida Association of School Resource Officers, said in the release. "This is a direct attempt to reach out and attract a younger age group luring them into the drug culture. We must be ever vigilant with our children to protect them from these predators."

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Gradebook features education articles and insights on schools in Florida, focusing on Tampa Bay area schools. What's the latest from the Florida Department of Education? How is the FCAT being used to compare Florida schools? What's going in on in Tampa Bay schools? Get an insider's view from the Times education reporting team.

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Rebecca Catalanello covers Pinellas County schools. E-mail her: rcatalanello@tampabay.com.

Tony Marrero covers Hernando County schools. E-mail him: tmarrero@tampabay.com.

Marlene Sokol covers Hillsborough County schools. E-mail her: sokol@tampabay.com.

Ron Matus covers Pinellas County schools. E-mail him: matus@tampabay.com.

Jeffrey S. Solochek covers Pasco County schools. E-mail him: solochek@tampabay.com.

Kim Wilmath covers the University of South Florida. E-mail her: kwilmath@tampabay.com.

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