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‘Better safe than sorry:' Ark. sheriff posts ‘PSA’ offering to test meth for coronavirus

In an attempt to thwart drug use in the area, a sheriff’s department used the coronavirus threat to craft a ‘PSA’

Syracuse Media Group

St. FRANCIS CONUTY, Ark. — These Arkansas sheriff’s deputies are on “high” alert for the coronavirus.

The St. Francis County Sheriff’s Office posted a “PSA” Wednesday warning folks to get their methamphetamine “tested” for the deadly new virus — and even offered to do it free of charge.

“If you have recently purchased meth locally, it may be contaminated with the Corona Virus,” the department posted on Facebook.

“Please take it to the Sheriff’s Office or Police Department and they will test if [sic] for free.”

https://www.facebook.com/StFrancisCoSO/photos/a.761877383846919/3040507892650512/?type=3&theater

For those uncomfortable bringing drugs to a sheriff’s office or precinct: “Please contact any officer and they’ll test your meth in the privacy of your home,” the post read.

It’s unclear if the department has gotten any takers. But their post was picking up steam, and had been shared more than 700 times by Thursday night.

Some on Facebook were aware that the “test” would likely result in criminal charges.

“Lol it’s just a trap to see who’s doing meth I wonder how many people gonna do this,” Christy Lynn Hansen wrote.

There haven’t been any cases of the coronavirus in Arkansas.

There are 60 confirmed cases in the US — including 45 people who were evacuated from an infected cruise ship in Japan or the outbreak’s epicenter in China, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The others are in Arizona, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington and Wisconsin.

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