EARLY YEARS: Snapchat and other social media being used by drug dealers to target kids

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – A couple weeks ago, celebrity TV therapist Laura Berman revealed her 16-year-old son had died of a drug overdose.Berman said a drug dealer had connected with him on Snapchat, and sold him a prescription drug laced with fentanyl.“Specifically, the reason why Snapchat is utilized in this way is because- the way that the app itself is set up is pretty much once it is opened and looked at, it disappears,” says Ashley Richardson, who visits classrooms and talks to kids and teens through her work with the Prevention Council of Roanoke County.She hears first hand just how easy it is for parents to miss the codes kids use on social media.“They’re using pictures and acronyms. They’re not even speaking in sentences. Things like a maple leaf are being utilized for marijuana, Richardson says.Snapchat is one of the most popular apps for buying and selling drugs, because the messages automatically disappear.Profiles and accounts can also be created and deleted quickly.“You can find a plethora of profile names. And you can just add these people on Snapchat. These are based on Bitmojis, so it’s not actually a human face as a profile picture,” says Richardson.Nancy Hans is the…
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