Buying drugs via popular social media platforms like Snapchat is easier than you think. We’ll tell you how to know if it is happening and how to talk to your child about it before it happens.

Buying drugs via popular social media platforms like Snapchat is easier than you think. I was invited to speak about Internet safety at a small community group after a local high school student had a scare with psychedelic mushrooms he purchased from a “Plug” he met on Snapchat. A Plug is slang for someone who sells or distributes drugs online. The Plug directed him to use Telegraph, a cloud-based communication app usable across all devices; it allows users to send pics, videos, stickers, texts, and other files with end-to-end encryption. People involved in illegal online activities prefer messaging apps with end-to-end encryption to hide what they are doing from the police. The Plug sent Jared a menu of drugs he could purchase. Jared told the Plug he wanted mushrooms, and they arranged a meeting in a nearby park the same day.

Jared handed the Plug $50 through his driver’s window and left carrying a bag of mushrooms. Jared said when he got home, he ate the first mushroom and immediately felt the effects. Feeling pretty good, he ate one more, and that’s when things took a turn. He hallucinated heavily, believing the sun would crash into his home, and started panicking. He tore off his clothes and ran outside screaming. Not knowing what was happening, his father went outside to help him. He dragged his son back inside and found the bag of mushrooms. Not sure what to do, he and some friends corralled Jared into the living room and held him down for several hours until he regained his senses. They had the bag of mushrooms tested; one was laced with PCP, and another with fentanyl. Jared was fortunate he did not seriously injure himself or die. Unfortunately, many children are dying from accidental overdoses ...