It is perhaps one of the most dangerous trends in drug trafficking to date.

methamphetamine cooks have started to target young children by offering them flavored meth.

Debbie Kuehn has more...

What is a monster? Does it have fangs or claws? Does it live in the closet or under the bed? Does it run around chasing frightened villagers all over the countryside?

The experts at Minot State University's Rural Crime and Justice Center say some of the scariest monsters look lot like the guy next door. They're out there trying to push methamphetamine on our children. Their latest tool...flavored meth.

(Nathan Anderson, MSU Rural Crime and Justice Center) "But the heavy user market is already really concentrated and they've kind of filled it in so much that they're starting to veer off into other markets and targeting younger children to bring them in as long time buyers."


Strawberry, chocolate, cherry and peanut butter are just a few flavors drug dealers are using to try and lure younger clients. It can be eaten, snorted, smoked or injected. It may appear innocent either resembling rock candy or a powdered version of an energy drink, but flavored meth can be very dangerous."


(Nathan) "Very much so, very much so...it can be deadly"


How can we fight such a ruthless monster? Anderson says one of the best things we arm our kids with is information.

(Nathan) "If you don't identify it as a normal candy, bring it home to your parents, we would say. And have them okay it before you consume it. We have had reports in North Dakota where there was a methamphetamine cook who emptied out pixie sticks filled it up with methamphetamine powder and distributed them to his girlfriend's fourth grade sister."


Because the only monsters our children should have to think about should be the ones appearing on the big screen.

A gram of methamphetamine something the size of a packet of sugar costs between one-and-two-hundred dollars in North Dakota. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list