DRUG DEALERS MIX IT UP FOR YOUNGER CROWD

Use Names Like 'Cheese' And 'Strawberry Quick,' Add Candy Flavoring

DALLAS -- In their quest to lure new, younger clientele, drug dealers
are mixing their wares with over-the-counter pain remedies and other
familiar products -- even candy -- and peddling them under
non-threatening names.

One such concoction, a blend of black tar heroin and Tylenol PM that
goes by the name "cheese," has been linked to the deaths of 19
teenagers in Dallas, including two 15-year-olds.

"If you're a drug dealer you have to target a new audience all the
time," said Garrison Courtney, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
spokesman. "It's Marketing 101 for drug dealers."

Examples of the drug-mixing strategy also include candy laced with
marijuana and, in several states, flavored methamphetamine. In
Arkansas recently, a mix of meth and strawberry-flavored powder
normally used to create a children's milk drink turned up under the
name "Strawberry Quick."

"They're calling it 'cheese,' they're not calling it 'heroin,' " said
Dr. Collin Goto, a toxicologist at Children's Medical Center Dallas.
"It becomes much more appealing to younger kids because it doesn't
have the stigma, they're not as afraid to get started."

Dallas school district police first became aware of the heroin-mixing
trend in 2005, and its become a disturbing local phenomenon since.

"Cheese is just a different makeup for mixing with heroin, but it's
still heroin," said Dr. Jeffrey Barnard, chief medical examiner for
Dallas County. "It's the heroin that's the problem."

Beyond the innocuous name, several other factors appear to be driving
the popularity of cheese. Kids often buy the drug from other kids.
It's affordable, selling for about $2 a dosage. And it is snorted
rather than injected.