HARAHAN, La. — A post warning residents of meth contaminated with the Zika Virus from the Harahan Police Department has gone viral and gained national attention in less than a day.
“Please bring all of it to your local Police Department and they will test it for free. If you’re not comfortable coming to us, an officer will be glad to come to you and test your Meth in the privacy of your home,” the post said.
Since Saturday afternoon, the post has received thousands of likes and shares on Facebook. Despite that, no one has taken the police up on their offer, a report from Advocate reporter Nick Reimann confirmed.
WARNING: *** If you have recently purchased meth in any area of Louisiana it may be contaminated with the Zika Virus. Please bring all of it to your local Police Department and they will test it…
When asked, Harahan Police Chief Tim Walker laughed at the question and said the officer who wrote the warning meant to bring attention to a serious drug problem, the report said.
“There is an opioid and meth problem. It’s all over the country,” Walker said, adding that no one so far has taken up police on the offer to have their meth inspected.
The Advocate: No, no one has brought us their meth to test for Zika, Harahan police chief says
A follow-up post sharing The Advocate’s article from the Harahan Police Department on Sunday further clarified the goal of the joke.
“Folks, the drug epidemic is real … praying 2019 brings solutions to a real national epidemic. We will continue to aggressively enforce drug laws and work with fellow agencies to combat the illegal enterprises that are literally killing more than 100 people a day with illicit drugs. Please reach out to family/clergy/social services if you are addicted to drugs and want help,” the post said.
As for free meth testing, Walker said he hasn’t counted out someone jumping at the chance.
“You never know,” Walker said.
