to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Https

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

  • Información de Drogas
    • Paraphernalia
  • Las Drogas y Su Familia
    • Accidental Exposure: Drugs and Young Children
    • Medications in Your Home
    • Signs of Drug Use
    • Social Media: Understanding a Teen's World
    • Talking to Your Child When You Suspect Drug Use
    • True Stories
    • Using Over-the-Counter Medication Safely
    • What You Should Know About Marijuana Concentrates/ Honey Butane Oil
    • What’s Happening in Your Child’s School
    • Why do Teens Use Drugs?
  • Noticias & Estadísticas
    • Latest News
    • Emerging Drug Trends
    • Tracking Drug Use and Other Drug-Related Statistics
  • Consecuencias
    • Drugged Driving—What You Should Know
    • Historias verdaderas
    • How Do Drug Overdoses Happen?
    • How Drugs Alter Brain Development and Affect Teens
    • School Failure
    • State and Federal Drug Laws
    • Treatment and Recovery
    • VIDEO: Taking Prescription Drugs to Get High—A Bad Idea
  • Participe
    • DEA Museum
    • DEA Red Ribbon Week Patch Program
    • Get Involved in a Community Anti-Drug Coalition
    • National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
    • National Recovery Month 2021
    • Operation Prevention
    • Red Ribbon Week is Oct. 23-31
    • Upcoming DEA 360 Events
  • Search
  • Menu
Casa
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Publicaciones de la DEA
  • Receba Actualizaciones
  • Busca Ayuda
  • Menu

Main Menu

  • Información de Drogas
  • Las Drogas y Su Familia
  • Noticias & Estadísticas
  • Consecuencias
  • Participe
  • Search
  • Menu

Breadcrumb

  1. Casa
  2. Node
  3. Social Media Fuels Fentanyl Crisis as Drug Dealers Take to Platforms to Connect With Minors

Social Media Fuels Fentanyl Crisis as Drug Dealers Take to Platforms to Connect With Minors

Last Updated: Thursday September 26, 2024


teen boy on cell phone

(CBS News) Fentanyl overdoses have become a leading cause of death for minors in the last five years or so, even as overall drug use has dropped slightly. In a 2022 analysis of fentanyl-laced prescription pills, the DEA found that six out of 10 contained a potentially lethal dose of the drug [Editor's Note: Now 7 out of 10].

And social media, where tainted, fake prescription drugs can be obtained with just a few clicks, is a big part of the problem. Experts, law enforcement and children's advocates say companies like Snap, TikTok, Telegram and Meta, which owns Instagram, are not doing enough to keep children safe.

In 2022, two weeks after she turned 17, Coco left home just outside New York City to meet with a dealer she'd messaged through Instagram who promised to sell her Percocet, her mom, Julianna Arnold, recalled recently. She never made it home. She was found dead the next day, two blocks from the address that the guy had provided her.

Whatever the dealer gave Coco, her mother said, was not Percocet. It was a fake pill laced with fentanyl, which can be lethal in a dose as small as the tip of a pencil.

Read more.

Learn which emojis are often used to reference which drugs with DEA's Emoji Drug Code Fact Sheet.

Featured Articles
Marijuana and lungs
Lung Cancer Diagnosis Comes 2.8 Years Sooner for Smokers of Both Tobacco and Marijuana
Beware illicit fentanyl
Illicit Fentanyl PSA
Woman uses a phone
Suicide Prevention Lifeline Transitions to 988
Wyatt Williamson
Wyatt's Story

Footer

  • Acerca de este sitio:
    • Ponte en contacto
    • Política de privacidad
    • Responsiva
  • Enlaces útiles
    • Publicaciones de la DEA
    • Drugs & Paraphernalia
    • Busca Ayuda
    • Piénselo Bien
    • Prevención de Drogas en la Escuela
  • Acerca de la DEA:
    • Accesibilidad
    • DEA: Who We Are
    • FOIA
    • Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos
    • U.S. Department of Justice EEO Policy
    • Legal Policies and Disclaimers
    • USA.gov
Casa
This is a United States Government, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) website. The inclusion of a link on this website does not constitute an official endorsement, guarantee, or approval by DEA.