‘Cheese’ appears to be a favorite of Hispanic juveniles, both male and female.

With the growing Hispanic community in Houston County and Warner Robins, police are concerned, but according to Lt. Lance Watson of the Warner Robins Police Department Narcotics Investigation Unit, have not seen it yet.

“It may come up,” Watson said. “With the big ice deal in metro Atlanta recently, we feel the effects down here. The supply may dry up and people are willing to try something new.”

Users as young as 13 are known to be experimenting with this drug, according to Narconon, a drug addiction recovery organization similar to Alcoholics Anonymous.

Typically described as a light tan colored powder with granules varying from fine powder to 1.5 millimeters in size, ‘cheese’ is typically found folded inside a small paper bindle.

In a similar fashion to snorting cocaine, ‘cheese’ is snorted through a tube into the nose. The effects that one may experience from ‘cheese’ are euphoria, disorientation, lethargy, sleepiness, and hunger, according to Narconon. As heroin has proven to be highly addictive, ‘cheese’ appears to follow in the same characteristic and symptoms of withdrawal may onset as fast as within 12 hours of cessation of use, according to Narconon.

Another characteristic that attracts youth to “cheese,” Narconon warned, is the cost. Typically, a capsule of ‘cheese’ can be purchased for $5 to $10, making it affordable for the very young.