There apparently was some smokin' o' the green planned in Marietta this past St. Patrick's Day.

Undercover agents from a multicounty task force say they watched a drug deal go down at a Marietta home Monday, and the crack cocaine stood out. Food coloring had been used to turn it green.

"I don't know if they're Irish or not,"� Washington County Sheriff Larry R. Mincks said of the five suspects. "They could be, I suppose. Or maybe they just wanted to celebrate the holiday."�

Deputies returned to the home Tuesday and bought 4.37 grams of green crack. Later, a Marietta police officer stopped a van that had been at the residence and, during a search, found more rocks of green crack cocaine.

Arrested and charged Tuesday were Kenneth Epps, 47; Paula Hadley, 44; Richard Haught Jr., 48; and Julie Hupp, 31. Tytus Shields, 19, was arrested and was being held on outstanding warrants from Franklin County. All the suspects are from Marietta.

It is possible, Mincks said, that the discovery of the green drugs on St. Patrick's Day simply was a coincidence. People have been known to color crack in hopes that authorities will think it's candy.

Though he jokes about it, Mincks understands it is serious business. Children, after all, could easily mistake the drugs for treats. That's why the arrests were especially important, he said.

The sheriff has seen colorful cocaine before. One spring, a deputy arrested someone carrying purple crack rocks, and a few years back, deputies confiscated some that had been dyed red. It was Christmastime.

hzachariah@dispatch.com