Can Snapchat be Dangerous? Illegal Drug Trade Discovered Following Death of Teen

Relationship therapist and celebrity doctor Dr. Laura Berman shared a warning to parents after her 16-year-old son Sammy died of a drug overdose.

Snapchat's danger

Berman posted an emotional tribute to her late son on Instagram on February 8, 2021. Berman said that her son had passed away and despite being sheltered at home, was contacted by a drug dealer on Snapchat and gave him fentanyl laced Xanax and unfortunately overdoses in his own room.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is the same as morphine but it is 50 to 100 times more potent, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse or NIH. Synthetic drugs like fentanyl are the most common drugs that are involved in overdose deaths.

According to the National Safety Council, people are more likely to die from an accidental opioid overdose than a car crash.

Berman noted that her son Sam was a straight-A student and that she and her husband monitored him closely. At the time of Sammy's death, he was getting ready for college and he was planning for his future.

Berman wrote that what happened to her son was experimentation gone bad and that he got the drugs delivered to the house. She reminded parents to watch their children and watch Snapchat because that is how dealers get to children.

Dr. Berman has now started a Facebook group for parents called "Parents for Safer Children" that focuses on parents who have been affected by their children's addiction and those who want to know how to protect their children from drugs.

Drug trade on Snapchat

Fentanyl is not the only drug that is prevalent on social media, especially Snapchat. Teens can also buy cocaine, marijuana and MDMA on the platform as the dealers target them specifically.

According to a report by 2News, drug dealers reach out to children and they find it common to see ads about drugs. The teens said that drug dealers randomly adds them and if they accept, they will slide into their DMs and offer them drugs. Drug dealers are called plugs and they use the plug emoji for identification.

The plugs add people on Snapchat and they categorize their victims by zip code. The drug dealers do not have a limit and they sell it anyone, no matter the age. The method of plugging is used to get a lot of potential customers.

The teens said that people will swipe up on the post and they will send a text under the post. The drug dealers will see the text, they'll discuss details like the order and the payment, and they will agree to meet somewhere. Most of the drugs sold on Snapchat are vape cartridges that are laced with THC.

Sgt. Dough Howell from Utah's County Sheriff's Office is focused on drug arrests. He said that drug dealers nowadays are no longer in the streets, waiting for customers, they are now online posting advertisements on social media, and they will post pictures of their products.

Sgt. Howell said that social media is used in 90% of their drug busts. He said that it is easy for them to spot dealers online because it is just out in the open.

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Written by Sieeka Khan