If you recently came into possession of some not-so-legal street drugs, one Florida police department wants you to know you can always come to them to get it tested for coronavirus, totally free of charge.
It’s a, uh, relatively new service.
RELATED STORIES
The Atlantic Beach Police Department recently posted the cheeky PSA on their Facebook page where they encouraged any paranoid drug users to seek out free coronavirus testing through the department itself.
As per the PSA, recently purchased cocaine, meth, heroin, or other street drugs may very well be contaminated with the coronavirus.
And since you really can’t be too careful these days, they want people to know they can always count on their local law enforcement to help them stay healthy while using their illegal drugs.
As they wrote online , “Please bring the drugs to the police department and we will test them for free.”
It’s as simple as that, guys!
Oh, and if you feel a little wary about hauling your drugs to a police station, don’t worry — they do home visits, too!
“If you’re not comfortable coming to the police department, we will send an officer to your house and they’ll test your illegal drugs in the privacy of your home,” the department wrote in their post. “Please spread the word!”
If you can’t tell by now, this whole post is a tongue-in-cheek joke, but it could very well end up fooling some… *gullible* Floridians.
The now-viral Facebook post had some users pointing out that there are certainly people out there who are dumb enough to fall for this ruse.
“Someone will be all highed up and call,” one user wrote. “Guaranteed!”
Another added, “I’m sure they are all lined up with their drugs to have them tested.”
While the Atlantic Beach PD was just trying to make light of the whole coronavirus situation, some departments are hoping their fake warnings will lead to real drug arrests.
As CNN reported, Tavares PD in Florida and Merrill PD in Wisconsin are two more examples of law enforcement offering to test illegal street drugs for coronavirus.
But unlike Atlantic Beach PD, they didn’t add laughing emojis after their offer, so they definitely seem way more legit.
Merrill PD’s original post was essentially the same as Atlantic’s, and they also offered home visits to test drugs.
However, after receiving some backlash from users who didn’t appreciate them making light of such a serious situation, the department added a follow-up to their post to explain this sort of method has worked in the past.
“Just to give you some history, we have actually experienced people report their illegal drugs being stolen, being ripped off in a drug deal, being sold a look-a-like illegal substance, etc.,” the department wrote. “So this attempt, although a long shot, still had some possibility behind it.”
“It is our hope that every drug arrest both works to hold offenders accountable for their deeds and provides them with a path toward treatment options.”
