Illegal online prescription drug sales spike among teens during back-to-school season

As school gets back in session for many D.C.-area students this month, authorities have a warning for parents: The new school year often brings a spike in dangerous illegal online drug sales.

“Parents are unaware,” said Mike Prado, deputy assistant director for Homeland Security Investigations and head of the agency’s Cyber Crimes Center. “They still think that if their child is going to be involved in drugs, they’re getting it from a friend or on a street corner somewhere.”

A growing number of teens are turning to social media sites, like Snapchat and TikTok, to buy illegally obtained prescription painkillers, including OxyContin, Percocet, Xanax and Adderall, according to Prado.

Buyers and dealers can cover their tracks on social media sites by using emoji and direct messaging features to coordinate transactions.

“Increasingly, we see children and teens being able to go online and access this just like any regular online marketplace,” Prado said. “It’s that easy, unfortunately.”

What’s more: Drug cartels secretly lace many of the counterfeit pills with deadly doses of fentanyl, a potentially lethal synthetic opioid, Prado said. Those are called “fentapills.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tracked a steady surge of overdose deaths since 2020. Most of the deaths have been caused by fentanyl mixed with other drugs like methamphetamines, which is an artificial stimulant.

“It’s one of those things where you don’t know what you’re taking and you’re really taking your life in your hands,” Prado said. “Even though it’s illegal, it shouldn’t be a death sentence for someone to acquire a narcotic.”

Prado said his agency sees a boost in these illegal sales when teens are headed back to school.

“Whether it’s high school or college, kids are back together socially,” he said. “And sometimes we see an uptick in recreational drug use. It’s important for parents to be aware.”