New designer drug appears in area
Agents of the Northwest Virginia Regional Drug Task Force have issued a
warning about a new synthetic drug that left a woman unconscious from an
overdose in Winchester.
Lauren Cummings, community relations and crime prevention specialist with
the Winchester Police Department, said Friday the woman survived the overdose
after officers with the Winchester Police Department found her in the 400 block
of North Loudoun Street on Tuesday.
Authorities say the victim had overdosed on a synthetic compound found added
to a type of candy called Smarties. The overdose marked the first
time that the task force has investigated a case involving the drug-laced
candies.
Overdoses from Smarties laced with the drug can be fatal. The drug lacing
the candy can also cause seizures, unconsciousness, sweating, elevated
heart rate and swelling of the brain. The effects are unpredictable and vary
from person to person.
Law enforcement officials say the synthetic compound, commonly referred to
as 25I, has been applied to rolls of Smarties candy with different amounts
of the drug added to different pieces.
Law enforcement officials believe Smarties laced with 25I in the Winchester
area are purchased online, not through ordinary local retail stores.
“They’re going to the website to specifically
purchase it, knowing these candies are laced with the drugs,” Cummings
said of those who consume Smarties laced with drugs.
Law enforcement officials in jurisdictions outside of Winchester said they
have received no reports so far of the drug-laced Smarties appearing in their
communities.
Strasburg Police Chief Tim Sutherly said he has heard warnings about
drug-laced Smarties but hasn’t seen any reported incidents of them in
Strasburg.
“I’m sure we’ll get it sooner or later, but not yet,”
Sutherly said.
Contact staff writer Joe Beck
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