Amid online rumors, PDEA-7 assures there is no ‘strawberry quick’ in the Philippines

A Facebook Page shared the advisory that a certain Strawberry Quick has entered the country. | Grabbed from the Facebook Page Bantayanmps Cppo

CEBU CITY, Philippines—Amid arising rumors of the entry and infiltration of a candy-drug among schools in the country, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) stands by its previous statement that no such drug has been reported in the country.

Facebook posts have been spreading of an undetected illegal drug called “strawberry quick” that is allegedly mixed into candies and juice consumed by school children causing them to unknowingly be exposed to the drug.

In a post from s Facebook page Bantayanmps CPPO, an advisory has been shared regarding the alleged infiltration of this drug in schools.

“This is a New Drug known as ‘Strawberry Quick.’ There is a very scary thing going on in the schools right now that we all need to be aware of. There is a type of crystal meth going around that looks like strawberry pop rocks (the candy that sizzles and ‘pops’ in your mouth). It also smells like strawberry and it is being handed out to kids in school yards. They are calling it strawberry meth or strawberry quick.Kids are ingesting this thinking that it is candy and being rushed off to the hospital in dire condition,” read the post, which was shared  around 2 p.m. of Friday, June 18, 2019.

Rumor of strawberry quick, an alleged drug that is mixed with candy and juice and given to school children, entering the country has spread at the beginning of classes. | Photo grabbed from Bantayanmps CPPO Facebook Page

CDN Digital called the Bantayan Police Station to ask if the page, which bears their name and logo, is connected to them. 

But their chief of police was not available for comment and the desk officer refused to issue a statement for lack of authority.

PDEA-7 spokesperson Leia Albiar, in a text message to CDN Digital, said  they stand by their statement last January that the so-called strawberry meth has not entered the country.

“The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Regional Office VII (PDEA RO VII) refutes information circulating online of the presence in the country of a so-called ‘strawberry quick’ drug, which allegedly resembles strawberry candy that pops and fizzes in the mouth,” they said in their previous statement.

The PDEA-7 said that reports of the presence of the so-called drug in the country are unfounded and that there have been no verified reports or seizures of that kind of drug in the Philippines.

No victim of the strawberry quick has also been recorded since the reports of its alleged entry spread on social media.

However, Albiar said that the PDEA is closely coordinating with agencies such as the Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Customs (BOC), and Cebu Port Authority (CPA) for the possible entry of this drug in the region.

She urged the parents to be generally vigilant with the intake of their children in school but assures them that candies and juices are safe from this strawberry quick drug.

She also urged the people to stop sharing information that is not verified to avoid confusing the public. /bmjo