A child, Youth and Family staff member, duped by a hoax email about flavoured methamphetamine that looked like strawberry popping candy, warned Central Otago, Queenstown and Wanaka schools to be on the lookout for the ''drug lollies'' this week.
Child, Youth and Family (CYF) southern regional director Chris Harvey yesterday confirmed the message had been forwarded ''in good faith'' by a staff member to their ''community contacts''.
''In the light of subsequent information, we have emailed everyone again to let them know the information isn't true.
We apologise for any distress this has caused to any of the recipients,'' Mr Harvey said.
Police reassured the public the email, about an alleged drug known as ''strawberry quick'', supposedly ''doing the rounds'' at schools, was a hoax.
The email claimed the product could be mistaken for strawberry lollies and said children eating the product would need emergency medical treatment.
The hoax had been circulating since 2007 and was thought to have originated in the United States, police said.
Mr Harvey said CYF encouraged staff, where appropriate, to inform people about local issues in their community.
''I have since reminded our staff to check the veracity of any emails they receive, and if they feel information should be passed on to the community, to double-check before passing it on,'' he said.
The Otago Daily Times understands the email had been sent by an Alexandra Child, Youth and Family staff member to all schools in the Central Otago, Queenstown and Wanaka area, as well as to other agencies dealing with youth in the area.
Central Otago police sub-area supervisor Senior Sergeant Ian Kerrisk said police had fielded ''quite a number'' of calls from concerned parents in the past few days and wanted to reassure the public there was no evidence such a product was available, in Central Otago or in New Zealand.
''I have no doubt this was sent out in good faith and it's a timely reminder for families to be aware of the potential for items such as this to find their way into society, but I can reassure the public that there is no evidence this particular product exists.
''Police would certainly take the lead in dealing with this, if we had concerns about such a product doing the rounds, but we're satisfied this is a hoax,'' Snr Sgt Kerrisk said.
