Medically Reviewed By: Manish Mishra, MBBS
Pink meth, or strawberry quick, is a type of crystal methamphetamine that has a pink color and a strawberry flavor.
Law enforcement agencies and recovery centers in Northern California first began to learn about this kind of meth use in the mid-2000s.
Pink methamphetamine use even became part of a national drug scare that now seems to have largely been a fabrication.
The Strawberry Meth Myth
In 2007, some law enforcement agencies and media outlets reported that there was a form of methamphetamine that was pink.
Drug dealers were marketing it to young children as Pop Rocks, or some other form of candy.
This story was even reported by the office of Senator Dianne Feinstein from California, but there is no official reported incidence of a child using pink meth or being treated for it.
Nevertheless, there is such a thing as pink meth, and it does appear that teenagers and young adults are attracted to it.
Pink Meth Use Among Teens And Young Adults
There have been several accounts of teenagers and young adults being sold and using pink meth or strawberry quick.
While drug dealers do not seem to be selling strawberry quick to children, the pink crystal drug, which is sometimes called rock candy, does seem to be attractive to some teenagers.
Pink meth use can become the beginning of methamphetamine addiction for them. The drug seems to be attractive to a younger crowd due in large part to the drug’s color, manner of use, and flavor.
How Pink Meth Is Used
Teenagers who use illicit drugs can be attracted to pink meth because of the simple way in which it is taken orally.
People who use the drug will put a piece of the fragment under their tongue or along their gums and hold it there until it dissolves.
Does Pink Meth Have The Same Side Effects As Other Forms Of Meth?
In spite of the drug’s pink color, manner of use, and strawberry flavor, it is still crystal meth. As such, it has the same side effects that crystal methamphetamine does.
Whether meth is taken orally, smoked, snorted, or injected, the side effects of the drug remain the same.
It is a stimulant drug that creates a powerful high or “flash”, but methamphetamine use also comes with a number of health risks.
Risks Of Pink Meth Abuse
Pink meth is a toxic substance, so when you dissolve it in your mouth, it can cause abscesses to form in your gums.
Methamphetamine abuse can also create potentially fatal risks, including:
- high body temperature
- convulsions
- heart attack
- stroke
- organ problems
Meth addiction has also been associated with:
- teeth problems
- loss of memory
- anorexia
Addiction Treatment Options For Meth Abuse
Methamphetamine use is dangerous and debilitating to your body, but there are treatment options available. Addiction treatment for meth use is primarily therapeutic.
There are currently no medication-assisted treatments (MATs) available for methamphetamine addiction like there are for opioid addiction.
That is why a professional treatment center will focus on evidence-based therapy to treat meth addiction in patients.
Find Drug Abuse Treatment At Bedrock Recovery Center
At Bedrock Recovery Center, we understand how meth can ravage your body and damage your mental health.
When you come to us for addiction treatment, we look at the available options for you to come up with a treatment plan that meets your needs.
Call our helpline today to get the help that you or your loved one need to begin your recovery.
- Drug Enforcement Administration https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/Methamphetamine-2020.pdf
- National Drug Intelligence Center https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs26/26594/strat.htm
- National Institute on Drug Abuse https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/methamphetamine/what-treatments-are-effective-people-who-misuse-methamphetamine
- United States Senator for California: Dianne Feinstein https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/op-eds?ID=cf4c47f1-0b73-f2cd-a67f-5e13e048a601