Cheese. Strawberry quick. Sirrup. Why do you think people give these kinds of nick-names to such dangerous drugs? There are two primary reasons.

One reason is so that users can talk about the drugs in public without fear of being overheard, even in front of their parents. A kid says,"We need to go get some cheese," and a nearby adult may think of dairy products, not highly dangerous heroin-based drugs.

In a previous generation, a girl might have said,"Let's go visit Mary Jane," and her unknowing mother would think she was referring to a friend of hers, not to marijuana.

Another reason to give nick-names is so that the substances will not sound as dangerous as they are. If a dealer walks up to a kid and says, "Hey, want to try some Strawberry Quick?", that doesn't sound nearly as dangerous as "Want to try some meth?" Hence all the cute street names like cheese, purple stuff, ....

So, if a dealer can just convince a kid that his product is fun, cool, and NOT dangerous, he can more easily get him to try it that first time. And sometimes, once is all it takes....

As a representative of Dogs Against Drugs, I try to keep an eye on trends in alcohol and drug use, especially as they relate to children or schools. If I see something in the media, or hear something through my contacts in education, I try to follow up on it and learn as much as I can so I can be a better rep. I do it not so much to be a better employee, but to be better prepared to help the kids out there that are exposed to so many more things than I ever was not so many years ago....

One troubling trend I am noticing is that it seems that our youth are being targeted by the drug trade. Sure, it has been speculated for years about how the tobacco industry is trying to hook our kids, but the dope dealer down the street? Here's what I'm seeing:

CHEESE: Cheese is the street name for a combination of heroin and Tylonol PM that is sweeping through Texas, especially the DFW area. It seems to be especially appealing to middle school students, who see it as a fun high that is cheaply purchased on even the smallest allowance for around $2 a hit. Since it's based on heroin, it is quite dangerous, especially for such young uses, and several deaths have already been reported in the Dallas area.

SYRUP, SIRRUP, or PURPLE STUFF: This liquid drink is based on prescription cough syrups with codeine combined with Sprite or similar soft drink along with a piece of candy like a Jolly Rancher. This sweet drug, which is purple-colored from the cough syrup (hence the nickname "purple stuff"), is of course appealing to young people. Recently, drug stores in the DFW area have been robbed of drugs, specifically large amounts of codeine cough syrups, which have a high street value primarily for the production of sirrup.

STRAWBERRY QUICK: This meth-based street drug is combined with CoolAid or similar red, sweet powders. The idea is that the bitter taste of meth is covered up, making it more appealing to users. The visual appearance is something like pop rocks or similar kind of candy. The obvious reason is, again, to make it appealing to young people.

There is a long trend in trying to make dangerous drugs sound like they are not dangerous, or are fun and appealing in many ways. I will touch on this idea more in a future post.