LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The growing concern over drugs laced with fentanyl has many parents wondering what they can do to prevent their children from finding these dealers online.
“I take this pill, am I gonna die?”
Metro police want teens asking that question as more pills tainted with fentanyl are being sold to kids online.
Capt. Branden Clarkson of the Major Violators Narcotics Bureau tells 8 News Now, “A lot of our dealers are using different web platforms and social media platforms to get on and sell their drugs.”
Local law enforcement can shut down websites, but it takes time.
“These criminals, if we shut down their operation, shut down their web page, they’re usually back up and running with a new website within hours,” according to Metro Lt. Allen Larsen.
Kids think they’re getting a party drug or painkiller, but it’s actually the highly dangerous and potent synthetic opioid: fentanyl.
“A granule, a salt granule is enough to kill you,” Clarkson said. “It shuts your body down, within minutes to hours, you could be dead.”
The experts say the time to talk to your teen about this is today.
“What I really want the parent to do is have the conversation,” Clarkson said. “Have the conversation!”
And after this crucial talk, tangible technological steps can be taken.
“You can actually create a child iCloud account that’s kind of a sub-account of your own, and then you can set parental permissions on that,” Clarkson said. “You can whitelist the websites they like and that will really prevent them from getting on websites where they could be ordering things that could end up being life-ending.”
According to the CDC, there were nearly 108,000 drug fatalities in the U.S. last year. One pill can kill.
“The access to any narcotics or drugs is obviously a huge concern to us at the police department, and should be a huge concern to parents,” Clarkson said.
Find additional safety tips under the Cyber Safe Parents tab on 8NewsNow.com.
