Instead of the usual white grainy substance, this form of tik is pink and looks like children’s sweeties.
It’s even named Strawberry Quick because of its colour and texture - similar to powdered pink cooldrink or pop rocks that crackle in your mouth.
Drug experts and community workers warn that the new form of tik is just as addictive as the original and could be even more devastating to youngsters.
Strawberry Quick is said to be a cheaper form of tik because it is mixed with colouring.
The substance comes in different colours and flavours and is believed to be a hit on Cape Flats school playgrounds.
Narcotics experts tell the Daily Voice that kids are taking the drug thinking that it’s sweets and then fall ill.
Cape Flats residents who have heard about the drug say it’s been around since last year but has been kept quiet.
A community activist and Mitchells Plain resident says primary school children have become easy targets for Strawberry Quick dealers.
“People are talking about the drug but no one has gone to the police to report it to anyone,” says the concerned man.
“We first heard about it when it was used at a Mitchells Plain school, and since then nothing much has been done about it.
“However, primary school children are the easiest targets and drug dealers are getting them hooked so they can become addicted to the drug and from there they start stealing from their parents.”
Baronise Henry, from Mediator Strandfontein drug support and counselling group, says she initially thought it was a prank when she found the warning about Strawberry Quick in her mailbox.
“But then I contacted the South African National Council of Alcoholism and Drug dependence who confirmed that it is a poor quality tik that’s dyed with food colouring to make the drug more ‘kinky’,” she says.
But Baronise makes it clear that the drug is just as dangerous as its notorious relative.
Parents have been urged to warn their children not to take packets of sweets from strangers and to tell teachers if they are offered any suspicious substances at school.
Experts abroad - where the drug has been around for at least two years - say it tastes like strawberry and comes in a bright pink colour.
There are growing concerns that the younger crowd will find the drug more attractive because of the variety of colours and flavours it comes in.
And dealers cut the drug with battery acid and other harmful substances to make it go further.
Flavour and colour are added to the meth during the cooking process, instead of afterwards, which means the drug does not lose potency.
The substance can be ingested by snorting, smoking or injecting.
The drug is more popular among new users who snort it because the flavouring can cut down on the bad taste.
A US police official says the drug is particularity aimed at the younger crowd.
“If dealers can get younger people using it, they can get long-time buyers,” he says. - (Daily Voice on IOL)
Unnamed community member makes sensational claims about drug without evidence. Independent drug expert confirms claims having received an email from an unknown source. Finally, US drug official is quoted "as authority".
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