Holiday Reminder from Voices for Awareness
March 17, 2022
DEA Denver Division warning of access to counterfeit pills, illicit drugs through social media
March 17, 2022GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — Fentanyl related deaths have continued to increase on the Western Slope and nationwide.
Snapchat; a social media platform, has taken a major leap to curb the selling of illicit drugs on the app.
In October, 2021 it was found that Snapchat was linked to the sale of fentanyl laced pills that killed many young adults in over a dozen states. Now the app is making some changes to fight back against the deadly drug.
In a matter of seconds, a post on snapchat is gone and with it, all it’s information.
The app is well known for its quick add service that allows users to connect with people, that they may not know.
Snapchat announced Tuesday (1/18), the company will crack down on illicit drug sales on the app and they are asking parents to start a conversation with their kids, about the dangers of drug sales on social media platforms.
Local fentanyl awareness advocate, Andrea Thomas has been sounding this alarm for years. “You have to reach out to your kids and have this conversation with them,” Thomas says, “Drug dealers are luring our youth in by showing them prescription looking pills, counterfeits on these apps and kids buy them, they are not well informed, these pills are actually laced with fentanyl and they are causing fentanyl poisonings and killing people at an alarming rate.”
Snapchat said it has improved its automated systems to detect illegal drugs, they have hired more employees to handle law enforcement requests, and developed an education portal focused on the dangers of fentanyl and counterfeit pills.
Now the company said it is taking its efforts even further. Snapchat has changed its friend recommendation feature, called Quick Add.
Parents, if you haven’t already, it’s time to have a conversation with your children about their online activity. But it’s not just minors, purchasing any illicit drug is dangerous. As fentanyl continues to cross our Nation’s border, it is important to remind you, that just one pill, can kill.
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 31: Shaun Willis, with the Brooklyn Community Recovery Center, demonstrates how to use Narcan to revive a person in the case of a drug overdose on August 31, 2022 in New York City. Nearly one million people have died of drug overdose deaths in America in the past two decades, with an increasing majority of those deaths due to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. To mark International Overdose Awareness Day, the Brooklyn Community Recovery Center handed out packs of Narcan nasal spray before holding a brief vigil for lives lost due to drug overdoses. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
