Random stats from studies about teens just thrown out there that don't really prove anything.
US teens are having less sex, doing fewer drugs and smoking fewer cigarettes than those who grew up in the 1990s, a study released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found. Labels: alcohol, drugs, health news, sex, youth news
They are also more likely to use condoms when they do have sex, wear a seat belt and avoid getting into a car with a driver who's been drinking, the national study of youth risk behavior found.
About 48 percent of high school students were no longer virgins in 2007, down from 54 percent in 1991.
Meanwhile, just 15 percent said they'd had four or more sexual partners, down from 19 percent in 1991.
And 62 percent of sexually active students said they'd used a condom the last time they had sex, up from 46 percent in 1991.
Some 35 percent of teens had at least one drink of alcohol in the month before they were surveyed in 2007, down from 42 percent in 1991.
Marijuana used has fallen to 20 percent of students from a peak of 27 percent in 1999 while methamphetamine use is down to four percent of teens surveyed in 2007 from 10 percent in 2001.
Nearly half as many students admitted to carrying some kind of weapon: 17 percent in 2007 compared with 33 percent in 1991.
But there has been little change in the number of students who said they'd stayed home from school because they felt unsafe either in the building or on the streets: seven percent in both 1991 and 2007.
Only 12 percent of students said they'd rarely or never worn a seat belt in 2007, down from 35 percent in 1991. Just 27 percent said they'd gotten into a car with a driver who'd been drinking, down from 36 percent in 1991.
"We are pleased that more high school students today are doing things that will help them stay healthy and avoiding things that put their health in danger," said Howell Wechsler, director of CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health.
"Unfortunately we are not seeing that same progress among Hispanic teens for certain risk factors."
While their has been a significant decrease in the number of black teens who'd had sex (66 percent in 2007 compared with 82 percent in 1991) and also among white teens (44 percent in 2007 compared with 50 percent in 1991) there was no change among Hispanic teens (52 percent in 2007 and 53 percent in 1991.)
"Hispanic students were more likely than either black students or white students to attempt suicide, use cocaine, heroin or ecstasy, ride with a driver who had been drinking alcohol, or go 24 hours or more without eating in an effort to lose weight," Wechsler said in a conference call with reporters.
"Hispanic students were also more likely than both black students and white students to say they did not go to school on occasion because of safety concerns, were offered or sold illegal drugs on school property or drank alcohol on school property."
A nationally representative sample of more than 14,000 students in grades nine to 12 were surveyed.
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Sick and tired of swimming upstream.
Last night at Heretic while hanging out with a new boy I had on my prospects list, another disappointment, another attack of frustration. Another guy comes up to him and together they scurry off to the bathroom. This is just after he'd gone to the bathroom with his room mate. Labels: boys, drugs, Heretic, personal, Shinji
I ask the room mate who's conversing with boys he thinks are attractive, "Is he going to the restroom to do what I think?"
"Yes."
"Tell him I'll talk to him some other time," came my annoyed reply.
Suspicions that the boy I was interested in likes to do the drugs was enough to send me away. But PIXIE, you'd say, you haven't got anything else going on. What's wrong with a little coke or meth. He just likes to have a good time. And maybe that wasn't it at all. You're overreacting!
Am I?
Am I really?
I think this is just a symptom of a much larger problem I seem to have right now. I'm STILL in the middle of the gay community scene trying to swim upstream. And unlike the mighty powerful salmon, this fishy is exhausted from the climb up without any payoff lately.
What's the point of going out, enjoying the vibe and music of a place if no matter who you talk to, casually or otherwise, turns into either being a complete douche bag (Shinji) or into drugs? And that's even if they find me attractive or interesting enough to talk to in the first place?
But where else can I find someone of the boy on boy persuasion? I'm not about to become one of those guys who troll the bookstore. I'm not exactly sure if there are any real community things I could be interested in that would get me what I want either.
It's not like I'm doing anything particularly wrong, I don't think.
I just am getting so tired of this life.
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Get Busy Child
The Crystal Method roared into WETbar's DJ booth and took the mostly rolling and mixed-sexual orientation crowd by storm. With a hard trance ferocity, they rocked their set without giving the people gathered much time to collect their breath. While they only played 3 of their own songs (that I could recognize through the heavy layering and improved remixing), I don't think anyone went home disappointed. Labels: breeder news, clubbing, drugs, election, electronica, Heretic, music, personal, WETbar
Well, except one guy that I was with.
He is older, has shoulder length long hair, and is best described as looking like a rock musician -- except he actually installs audio/visual equipment for business and residence.
I'd seen him a long time ago at Heretic, but he'd been going mostly to Blake's and WETbar lately and they had been treating him quite well after he installed some new equipment for them.
So this got us into VIP which as I think I've stated before really isn't all that amazing. But I guess it's just the allure of something the great unwashed can't get into that makes it all so much better, right?
So anyway, this guy, he's hot, handsome, really into me. Too much into me, actually and that becomes off putting. I let him know rather quickly that his aggressiveness is too much for me. I try to go more on the attack with little success. And though I had a moderately good time making out with him and bumping uglies on the dance floor to what should be Barack Obama's theme song for the younger set (Keep Hope Alive), I just couldn't go home with him.
I turned him down.
Maybe in the end that my way of finally overpowering an extremely dominate seme. But I started to think about how it wasn't going to work out anyway. While I can please some as uke, I'm not especially good at the role in the bed. While it's always great to do things out your ordinary comfort zone, I didn't think it would lead to anything really all that pleasant. At least not for me.
And you know NOT going home with him STILL was quite unpleasant as WETbar and Blake's shuttle stopped running after I was to be the only one needing to ride it back to my car. They actually told me to get back off the bus, they were shutting it down. I complained. I knocked on the closed WETbar door and complained some more to the bartender who opened it. And after walking the 8 blocks back to my car at 3:30 in the morning, after driving back home, I pulled up their website to complain to them some more. They're the assholes that should have been fucked last night.
It seriously makes me reconsider going to see Hybrid in 2 weeks and Deep Dish in 4.
VIP... ha! The Heretic wouldn't have treated me that way.
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More on Heath Ledger.
Ledger told The New York Times in a November interview that he "stressed out a little too much" during the Dylan film and had trouble sleeping while portraying the Joker, whom he called a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy." Labels: celebrity news, drugs, epic, movies
"Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," Ledger told the newspaper. "I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." He said he took two Ambien pills, which worked for only an hour, the paper said.
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Heath Ledger has died at the age of 28.
Labels: Austrailia, boys, celebrity news, drugs, epic, movies, new york city, obituary
NEW YORK (CBS) ? Heath Ledger, who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in the critically-acclaimed movie "Brokeback Mountain," was found dead -- possibly from a drug overdose -- Tuesday afternoon in a New York City apartment.
The Australian-born actor was just 28.
He was pronounced dead at 3:26 p.m. in an apartment on 421 Broome St. in SoHo.
Police say he was scheduled to have a massage in the apartment, and when the masseuse arrived, a housekeeper went to alert him, but instead found him in cardiac arrest and immediately called 911.
Ledger was said to be found naked at the time of his death.
The actor's death may be drug-related, and that there were pills, possibly a strong sleeping medication, found near his body. However, there was no obvious indication of suicide, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.
Police do not suspect foul play.
An autopsy was scheduled by the medical examiner for Wednesday.
Early reports said the apartment was owned by actress Mary-Kate Olsen, but a publicist for Olsen later refuted those reports.
Ledger had recently separated from actress Michelle Williams, who he met while filming "Brokeback Mountain" and became engaged to last year. The couple had an apartment in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn and had one daughter, Matilda, who was born in 2005.
Before marrying Williams, Ledger had also dated actress Naomi Watts and Heather Graham.
Most recently, Ledger was featured in the Bob Dylan biography film "I'm Not There."
He was slated to appear in the next installment of the "Batman" movies, "The Dark Knight," opposite Christian Bale as the infamous "Joker" -- becoming the first non-American to take on the role.
Of the most well-known 15 films Ledger appeared in: "The Patriot," "A Knight's Tale," and "Monster's Ball." He was also nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in "Brokeback Mountain."
In 2001, People magazine named him as one of their "50 Most Beautiful People."
According to a quote from Ledger listed on his profile on the Internet Movie Database, the star enjoyed living life one day at a time.
"I'm not good at future planning. I don't plan at all," he said. "I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow. I don't have a day planner and I don't have a diary. I completely live in the now, not in the past, not in the future."
Ledger grew up in Perth, and began doing amateur theater at age 10. At 16, he moved to Sydney to pursue an acting career, quickly landing TV movie roles and guest spots on Australian television.
After several independent films and a starring role in the short-lived Fox TV series "Roar," Ledger moved to Los Angeles and co-starred in "10 Things I Hate About You," a teen comedy reworking of "The Taming of the Shrew."
Offers for other teen flicks came his way, but Ledger turned them down, preferring to remain idle than sign on for projects he didn't like.
Ledger used to shop at a neighborhood home store and children's store owned by a company called Calypso. Michelle Vella, a buyer there, said she had frequently seen Ledger with his daughter -- carrying the toddler on his shoulders, or having ice cream with her.
"It's so sad. They were really close," said Vella. "He's a very down to earth guy and an amazing father."
She said Ledger once bought a bookcase at the home store, and purchased stuffed animals and dresses for his daughter at the children's store.
He would have turned 29 on April 4.
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Star of "Apt Pupil," "Bully," and "The Cure" has died.
LOS ANGELES — Actor Brad Renfro, whose career began promisingly with a childhood role in "The Client" but rapidly faded as he struggled with drugs and alcohol, was found dead Tuesday in his home. He was 25. Labels: celebrity news, drugs, movies
Paramedics pronounced him dead at 9 a.m., said Craig Harvey, chief investigator for the Los Angeles County coroner's office. The cause of death was not immediately determined, Harvey said, but an autopsy could be conducted as early as Wednesday.
Renfro had reportedly been drinking with friends the evening before his death, Harvey said.
Renfro's lawyer, Richard Kaplan, said he did not know whether the death was connected to any problems with addiction.
"He was working hard on his sobriety," Kaplan said. "He was doing well. He was a nice person."
Renfro recently completed a role in "The Informers," a film adaptation of a Bret Easton Ellis novel that stars Winona Ryder, Brandon Routh and Billy Bob Thornton.
"Brad was an exceptionally talented young actor and our time spent with him was thoroughly enjoyable," Marco Weber, president of the film's production house, Senator Entertainment, said in a statement.
The actor served 10 days in jail in May 2006 after pleading no contest to driving while intoxicated and guilty to attempted possession of heroin.
The latter charge stemmed from his arrest in Los Angeles' Skid Row area, when he attempted to buy heroin from an undercover officer in 2005.
For several years he was better known for that drug bust and the resulting criminal case than for acting.
After one court appearance, he talked to reporters about drug rehabilitation, saying he was "tired of paying the consequences" for drinking and drug use and eager to get clean.
"It's definitely been an eye-opener," he said of his rehabilitation program.
Other run-ins with the law included a 1998 charge of cocaine and marijuana possession, for which he avoided jail time in a plea deal. He was also placed on probation in January 2001 and ordered to pay $4,000 for repairs to a 45-foot yacht he and a friend tried to steal in Florida in August 2000.
He was arrested again in May 2001 and charged with underage drinking, violating the terms of his probation, and was ordered into alcohol rehabilitation the following March.
A native of Knoxville, Tenn., Renfro's film career began when he was 12, acting opposite Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones in "The Client." His other credits included "Sleepers," "Deuces Wild," "Apt Pupil" and "The Jacket."
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Amateur party people.
New Years Eve is one of the only nights of the year where the non-professional party people try to have a good time. I'm all for sharing the love (and the dance floor) with them, but some of you bitches need to know when to say when about three cocktails before you fall into me. And I'm talking about actual girls. Seriously! You're coming into our gay nightclubs, all fine and well, but don't make complete asses of yourself. You're pissing me off! Labels: alcohol, boys, clubbing, DJ Kaze and Tatsuo, drugs, holiday news, Japan, NaNoWriMo, personal, pixiesticks, shota, The Body Shop, WETbar, works, yaoi
On a more positive note: Kaze and Tatsuo's hospitality was so wonderful. I felt very loved while spending our third New Years Eve together as friends. I ventured to their home, which is very lovely. We watched part of the Japan 4 hour annual New Years Eve concert. Tat gave me more Japanese candy! Yum yum yum.
WETbar is where pretty much all of the girls taking spills with their drinks in hand took place. But it was also where we rung in the actual New Year. Who would have thought this time last year Britney Spears would have had made such a disgraceful fall only to be reclaimed as a diva the pretty boys all love singing and dancing to?
I didn't win any of the cash money drop, but then again, I wasn't really trying. And I wasn't dancing so much either. This was because there really wasn't much space to do anything other than perhaps survey the carnage.
A jaunt over to The Body Shop afterwards was filled with ALOT more fun than usual. While I've discussed at length how the after-hours club has simply not lived up to any expectations, last night they really put on a barn burner. Sure, it was mostly filled with the sketchiest of the bunch (partly because another after-hours party at Center Stage was shut down by the po-po), but it was the most fun I'd had there in a while. And perhaps for the first time, The Body Shop felt like a real club.
Today I've spent mostly resting. It was a really long final day of 2007, but I'm glad to say that I survived a particularly troublesome year.
I've also been slowly chipping away at editing down my winning entry for NaNoWriMo written back in November. It's a novel called "Later, Skater" and I'm really fond of it. Editing isn't a easy chore to say the least, but I really feel good about this project and hope it will be successful.
Glad to have each and every one of you to start off this new year. 2008 could end up being one of the most dramatic in the world we live in, but one thing will remain constant: Pixiesticks.org will still stand tall as one of the best places for yaoi and shota.
So stick around and Happy New Year.
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Don't fucking do meth.
WASHINGTON — Nearly a quarter of teens say it would be "very easy" or "somewhat easy" to gain access to methamphetamine, a survey released Tuesday shows. Labels: drugs, youth news
One in three teens also believes there is only a "slight risk" or "no risk" in trying meth once or twice, according to the study by The Meth Project, a nonprofit anti-drug group that produces gritty ads to show the perils of meth abuse.
And about one in four teens said there are benefits to using meth. Twenty-four percent of teens agreed with the statement that meth "makes you feel euphoric or very happy," while 22 percent said meth "helps you lose weight" and 22 percent said it "helps you deal with boredom."
Lawmakers and government officials said the survey highlights the need for an aggressive public education campaign to inform kids about the dangers of the highly addictive stimulant.
"For kids, meth is death," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "And if we really want to do something about improving the survival of our adolescents and help them become healthy adults, we've got to tackle this problem head on."
Gerberding praised The Meth Project's two-year anti-meth ad campaign in Montana, which is credited for helping reduce meth use in the state by 45 percent since 2005. The ads use graphic images to portray the drug's ravages on young people.
By contrast, meth use among teens nationally remained unchanged over the same period, according to the annual drug use survey released last month by the Health and Human Services Department.
Getting to kids at an early stage is crucial, Gerberding said. Of the teens who have tried meth, 77 percent reported they used the drug when they were 15 or younger, the survey showed.
On the positive side, a majority of teens — 76 percent — voiced "strong" disapproval with trying meth once or twice, about the same level as those who disapproved of trying cocaine or heroin.
"What this survey shows us is that we have more work to do," said White House drug czar John Walters said. "These attitudes are troubling. We still have too many kids who say they can get their hands on this poison."
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy began a meth prevention ad campaign earlier this month. The print and broadcast ads — including four produced by The Meth Project — will appear in eight states where meth use remains high: Alaska, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Oregon and Washington.
Walters said prevention efforts appear to be having an impact. He pointed to a report last December from the National Institute on Drug Abuse that showed meth use among teens declined 50 percent from 2001 to 2005.
The survey for The Meth Project was conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media and questioned 2,602 junior and senior high school students ages 12-17 at 43 schools across the country.
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File this under: Darwin was robbed.
A teenager was rushed to hospital after overdosing on espresso coffee. Labels: drugs, food, health news
The 17-year-old downed seven double espresso coffees while working in the family's sandwich shop and was left "burning up and hyperventilating".
Student Jasmine Willis, who thought the coffees were single measures, said the effects of the espresso were so severe her actions left customers bewildered.
She said she started laughing and crying for no reason while serving them, but after being sent home by her father Gary the medical symptoms started. She developed a fever at home and was unable to breathe properly.
Jasmine, of Stanley, County Durham, was rushed to the University Hospital of North Durham after her cousin called the paramedics. Doctors confirmed she had overdosed on caffeine and after monitoring her condition allowed her home a few hours later.
She made a full recovery and wants to warn others about the dangers of excessive coffee drinking.
"My nerves were all over the place," Jasmine said.
"I was crying in front of the customers and had tears streaming down my face."
After going home she experienced frightening physical symptoms. She added: "I was drenched. I was burning up and hyperventilating.
"I was having palpitations, my heart was beating so fast and I think I was going into shock."
After being allowed home from hospital she suffered side effects for days and now cannot face the sight of coffee.
She said: "I felt exhausted for days afterwards. I did not realise this could happen to you and I only hope other people learn from my mistake."
Her father Gary, who runs The Sandwich Bar, in Stanley, said: "She did not realise she was drinking double measures.
"I have always stressed to my children the importance of moderation but Jasmine got caught out on this occasion."
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LOL. Islam.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian police detained more than 200 people and seized alcohol and drugs in a raid on a "satanic" underground rock concert, media in the conservative Islamic state reported on Saturday. Labels: alcohol, clubbing, drugs, international news, music, religious news
Iran, which has launched an annual summer crackdown on "immoral behavior", bans alcohol, narcotics and parties with unrelated men and women dancing, drinking and mixing. Western popular music is frowned upon.
The police operation took place on Wednesday night in the town of Karaj near the capital Tehran, at an event with local disc jockeys, rock and rap groups performing, the media said.
"Most of those arrested are wealthy young people ... who came to this party with the goal of attending a provocative, satanic concert," daily Tehran-e Emrouz quoted a senior police official, Reza Zarei, as saying.
Karaj's public prosecutor, Ali Farhadi, said invitations had been sent out via the Internet and that people from Britain and Sweden were among those held. Zarei suggested they were expatriate Iranians visiting the country.
Farhadi said 150 bottles of alcoholic drinks, 800 "obscene" CDs and different kinds of drugs had been confiscated by police, as well as "inappropriate" dresses that those behind the event were giving to female guests as gifts.
"Some 230 people who attended a rock party in Karaj were identified and arrested," Farhadi said on the Web site of Iran's state broadcaster.
He said 20 video cameras had also been seized and that the organizers had planned to blackmail girls after filming "inappropriate and obscene" videos of them.
Under sharia, Islamic law, imposed after Iran's 1979 revolution, women are obliged to cover their hair and wear long, loose clothing to disguise their figures and protect their modesty. Violators can receive lashes, fines or imprisonment.
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Meth. Don't fucking do it.
Crystal methamphetamine use among young American adults is twice higher than previously estimated, according to National Institutes of Health (NIH) research published Friday. Labels: drugs, health news, youth news
Also known as "ice," "crystal," "glass," and "tina," crystal meth is a highly addictive, inexpensive, colorless stimulant that affects the central nervous system.
Typically smoked, it is used by 2.8 percent of young adults aged 18-26, according to the revised results of a 2001-2002 study conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the NIH.
The initial research had found crystal use at 1.4 percent among adults aged 19-28.
"This new information gives us a clearer picture of use among young adults, but also raises new concerns," said NIH Director Elias Zerhouni.
"Even occasional use of crystal methamphetamine is associated with multiple health and social risks, including a negative impact on families as well as straining emergency departments and law enforcement resources," he added.
The new NIH study found crystal users are "disproportionately white and male" and live mainly in the western part of the United States. Native Americans, it also found, were 4.2 times as likely as whites to use crystal.
"Users also tend to have lower social economic status, use other substances, such as alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine, and the male users are more likely to have had incarcerated fathers," the NIH said.
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The luckiest pot smoker ever.
ST. MARTINVILLE, La. — Willie Nelson and his tour manager were spared jail time Tuesday after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count of marijuana possession. Labels: celebrity news, crime drama, drugs
Nelson and tour manager David Anderson, along with Nelson's sister, Bobbie Nelson, and two drivers, were issued citations on Sept. 18 after state troopers said they found marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms on the country legend's tour bus during a commercial-vehicle inspection on Interstate 10.
State District Judge Paul deMahy fined Nelson and Anderson $1,024 each and put both on probation for six months. As part of a plea agreement, the citation against Bobbie Nelson was dismissed.
St. Martin Parish Assistant District Attorney Chester Cedars said he dismissed the citations against the two drivers because there was no indication they "had anything to do with the contraband."
Word spread quickly that Nelson was in this small southern Louisiana town, and a crowd of about 25 fans gathered outside to wait for the entertainer after his brief court appearance. When he emerged, Nelson obliged, shaking hands, signing scraps of paper and posing for photographs.
"Thank y'all," he said, waving as he climbed into a waiting car.
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No CyberRaver, but still Elf.
It was a strange night tonight. Elf has lost his ID again, so there wasn't a CyberRaver to be enjoyed. I had a few drinks at Heretic and then at Blakes and saw a few old faces. No really, some of these bitches are starting to look old. Labels: clubbing, drugs, electronica, Elf, personal, yaoi
I then went to Elf's and watched Taboo. It's a pretty lame-brain gay samurai movie that is about as creative as most doujinshis.
While there, I related to him how I had recently watched Transamerica. It's a movie he actually liked, surprisingly. Elf said that it felt like a real portrayal and that was important. I tended to agree. It also let me tell him that I was sorry for not always seeing how difficult things were from his perspective.
So that was good.
I also disposed of the gift from the shady character from earlier in the week. I took a little bite out of it, just for my own amusement. Not really so much effect, maybe a bit speedy which means I definately did the right thing by not doing it.
As I've mentioned before, I'm pretty sure I'm tired of alot of this stuff for the time being.
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Freebies!
Last night I not only got the free ride to WETbar, but also met someone on the shuttle that got me into the venue and VIP for free. I so don't belong in that section though, what with my shota shorts, dragon t-shirt, and two color hair. But, heck if Sanjaya is gonna be our next American Idol, who knows what can happen in this world. Labels: clubbing, drugs, electronica, Elf, personal
I also got a few free drinks, free cigs from Camel, and a -ahem- free um, well, gift from an certain shady character that wasn't involving sex. Don't worry though, loves, I didn't use such item.
I do want to meet him again. He and his friend are going to be at CyberRaver which is Friday night. I'll be there with Elf, who won us free tix off the radio.
Free is good.
DJ John Digweed was outstanding too, btw. He even gave us applause at the end of his set. What a nice bloke!
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The 'Strawberry Quick' and The Dead
Reports of candy-flavored methamphetamine are emerging around the nation, stirring concern among police and abuse prevention experts that drug dealers are marketing the drug to younger people. Labels: drugs, youth news
The flavored crystals are available in California, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Texas, New Mexico, Missouri and Minnesota, according to intelligence gathered by Drug Enforcement Administration agents from informants, users, local police and drug counselors, DEA spokesman Steve Robertson says.
"Drug traffickers are trying to lure in new customers, no matter what their age, by making the meth seem less dangerous," Robertson says.
Methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant, is usually a white or brownish, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that dissolves in water. It is usually smoked or snorted.
Among the new flavors are strawberry, known as "Strawberry Quick," chocolate, cola and other sodas, Robertson said. One agent reported a red methamphetamine that had been marketed as a powdered form of an energy drink, he said.
A patrol officer who stopped a car on Feb. 13 in a rural area of Greene County, Mo., seized a bag of "strawberry meth" from a female passenger, says Capt. Randy Gibson of the Greene County Sheriff's Department. The seized drug had a slight strawberry smell to it, he said.
Greene County deputies have seized colored meth before, Gibson says. Several years ago, blue methamphetamine, known as "Smurf dope" circulated in the area, Gibson said.
"It was nothing more than one of the local meth cooks taking a great deal of pride in his purity," Gibson says. "He ground up blue chalk to color it so he could market it as his."
Carson City, Nev., Undersheriff Steve Albertson says dealers often try to make their meth distinctive with color or a catchy name as a way to brand it. "Then they'll spread the word that this meth, whatever color it is, is the best kind of meth there is," he said.
The appearance of "Strawberry Quick" in Greene County came less than two weeks after the Nevada Department of Public Safety issued a bulletin about flavored methamphetamine seized during a Jan 27 apartment search in Carson City.
"It seems to have progressed very quickly from west to east," Gibson says.
"Strawberry Quick," the bulletin said, "is popular among new users who snort it because the flavoring can cut down on the taste. Teenagers who have been taught meth is bad may see this flavored version as less harmful. 'Strawberry Quick' is designed for the younger crowd."
As methamphetamine's popularity has waned, drug dealers have to create new ways to market it, says Scott Burns, deputy drug czar for state, local and tribal affairs for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. The number of people 12 and older who used methamphetamine for the first time in the previous year decreased from 318,000 people in 2004 to 192,000 people in 2005, according the National Survey on Drug Use and Health by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
"The traffickers know the word is out about what a horrible drug this is," Burns says.
"They are having a tough time selling this product, especially to young people. What do people in marketing do when they have a tough time selling a product? They have to come up with some sort of gimmick."
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