INDIANAPOLIS — Parents across the country are being warned of a new trend involving candy flavored prescription pills infiltrating high schools across the Midwest.

The sweetened drugs look like candy to the naked eye and are called Xanie Tarts. The pills are a mix of Xanax and Sweet Tarts.

Xanax is a prescription drug prescribed for anxiety disorders but may have side effects that include drowsiness, slurred speech and memory problems, among others.

The drug is sometimes attractive to drug abusers because it has the ability to interact and connect with the brain’s pleasure pathway, producing a euphoric sensation in some users.

The Xanax-laced candy is also disguised in a form that mimics gummies.

Bartholomew County (Ind.) Sheriff Matthew Myers alerted parents and the general public alike that the new drugs have the potential to be ingested by someone not looking for a quick high.

“We are very concerned that someone might overdose if they eat the candy unaware that it has been laced with drugs,” Myers said.