Marketing drugs to teens

USA Today has a high-profile story on the trend of illegal drug dealers getting creative in marketing their wares to kids. From the article:

In their quest to lure new, younger clientele, drug dealers are mixing their wares with over-the-counter pain remedies and other familiar products — even candy — and peddling them under non-threatening names.

One such concoction, a blend of black tar heroin and Tylenol PM that goes by the name "cheese," has been linked to the deaths of 19 teenagers in Dallas, including two 15-year-olds.

"If you're a drug dealer you have to target a new audience all the time," said Garrison Courtney, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman. "It's Marketing 101 for drug dealers."

Examples of the drug-mixing strategy also include candy laced with marijuana and, in several states, flavored methamphetamine. In Arkansas recently, a mix of meth and strawberry-flavored powder normally used to create a children's milk drink turned up under the name "Strawberry Quick."

I'm sure I could spend all day coming up with similar clever ideas, but this demonstrates how hard it is for the street-level dealer to compete today. With easy OTC highs and Big Pharma happy pills in the medicine cabinet, teens these days need a bit more than a common dime bag to get them excited. But why would anyone want to do a drug called "cheese"?