Flakka Now Made To Look Like Candy
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The synthetic drug that has spread through South Florida streets is now coming in a new form and it's marketed for children.
Miami-Dade Police said the drugs are now being produced to look like children's candy.
"These dangerous chemicals are out there in benign seeming forms and we all need to be careful about that," said Criminalist Stephen Snipes.
During a narcotics bust, Miami-Dade Police said they found what looked like candy in a zip lock bag. Turns out, it was laced with a synthetic drug similar to Flakka and bath salts.
It's a crystal-like drug that is cheap, addictive and deadly.It can be swallowed, smoked or injected and often causes hallucinations and paranoia.
"There's been a lot of medical problems," said Snipes.
In this case, narcotics detectives say the drug mimicked the candy's sugar coating. It looked almost identical to regular gummies but they were stickier and individually wrapped.
"The crystal was crushed up and a piece of candy was rolled in the crystals," said Snipes. "It wasn't as flexible and it was much stickier than the actual commercial product and it was individually wrapped."
While this is Miami-Dade's first case, police are warning the community to be on the look out.
The drug has led people to have numerous run ins with South Florida authorities, some with deadly consequences.
Last month, a man was spotted running naked through the Boca Raton streets.
Earlier this year, a man was shot and killed during a 3-day Flakka bender.
To add to the number of unusual run ins, a man was impaled in Fort Lauderdale while trying to scale the fence around the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.
Cops say the new drugs are constantly being created to avoid arrest and target kids and they want parents to know what's out there before it becomes a serious problem.
"It's always a cat and mouse game," said Detective Daniel Ferrin with Miami-Dade Police. "These are all things we want to make sure, if we see it out on the street...make sure to stay away from it."
Anyone with information about the drug, call Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.
