Health officials are warning the fentanyl drug is not only threatening communities in the form of substance abuse, but also poses a significant danger to children who are unwittingly taking it.
Social media outlets have been found selling these drugs to underage children.
Vape pens today are filled with lethal doses of fentanyl
Many high school campuses have reported the presence of fentanyl drugs in vape pens.
It is also believed criminals are disguising the deadly drug as less severe medications, like Xanax, Adderall, and oxycodone to target schools and college-going youth.
Fentanyl is becoming more accessible to kids on social media, raising alarms for parents https://t.co/jygrhDq7Ih via @foxnews
— Chris 🇺🇸 (@Chris_1791) January 12, 2022
Jamie Puerta (a father whose 16 year old died recently after taking a pill with a significant dose of fentanyl) mourns the concept of children buying these lethal doses using social media.
While Puerta stated he could not condone the decision of his son to self-medicate during the pandemic, he did not deserve to die for consuming half a pill.
According to him, when he walked into his son’s room at 8 am, he was dead from taking the pill he bought from Snapchat.
Since the incident happened in April 2020, Jamie has been trying to keep these sorts of doses out of the hands of children.
In December 2021, police confiscated many vape pens filled with fentanyl from students in two schools in America. Included is one in Norwalk, Connecticut, and the other in Madisonville, Tennessee.
#BREAKING #huntingtonbeach #safety @OC_Scanner possible Fentanyl pills dumped by HB Elementary school pic.twitter.com/65GR0J7ct1
— matt (@Matt_OCHAWK) January 12, 2022
Online communities make possession of dangerous drugs easy
Johan Pleitez is a 19-year old student from California who is in the process of rehabilitation after taking excessive fentanyl; he noted the problem is omnipresent.
According to Pleitez, he knows many students who consume this drug without knowing what they are doing and what could be the consequences.
Pleitez revealed the source of these drugs, claiming students are obtaining them using Instagram, Snapchat, and getting them from other students consuming the same thing in schools.
The owner of Action Drug Rehab, Cary Quashen, asserted when young students are purchasing these drugs online, they are getting them delivered to their homes.
An official of the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS), Sarah Goldsby, believes these drugs are similar to Adderall in their appearance; therefore, high school and middle school students take them unintentionally.
While Goldsby acknowledges America has never seen this sort of crisis before, she also believes these problems could be mitigated if tackled properly.
She highlighted nobody should feel ashamed while asking for help regarding this drug problem, as many people have recovered from opioid consumption.
Similarly, Goldsby mentioned the CDC data, according to which fentanyl kills more Americans in the age group of 18-45 than anything else.
Anxiety problems with the surge of the pandemic are making matters worse, as more people are now turning to anti-depression drugs.
Sarah Goldsbay also said these drugs are not regulated and manufacturers are making it illegal to dodge the authorities.
