By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Why it's too easy for kids to buy deadly drugs online and what parents can do about it
0c8f16d5b746f83d356ea7073972a25e54328d66846b3b18772ec18239a58f30
No Caption - photo by Amy Iverson
A 15-year-old wants to buy drugs but doesnt want to talk to the weird dealer in the bad part of town. Shes heard about one drug actually legal that kids have bought online that is seven times stronger than morphine.

She types the name of the drug into a search engine, and a bunch of websites come up claiming to sell it. She clicks on one and the pictures show little baggies of the powder for sale in different amounts. The three-gram bag is $80. She ignores the warnings that this drug is not meant for human consumption. She dismisses the fine print that says these drugs are only meant for chemical research. She doesnt care about the small type that says a buyer should be older than 18. The website claims a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee and has links to connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

It must be legit.

She uses her debit card to pay and the synthetic opioid U-47700 is on its way from China. The drug may not get to this girl. Customs may flag it for some reason and stop delivery. But just as likely, that legal, lethal drug will land right on her doorstep in plain brown wrapping.

This scenario may sound far-fetched, but it's happening every day in many neighborhoods in America. Sometimes its easy to ignore the drug problem in our country. It seems to only affect certain zip codes or people we dont know. But an email hit my inbox last week from my small school district telling me that neighboring Park City, Utah issued an alert. The warning was about the drug U-47700 also known as Pink or Pinky an extremely dangerous drug growing in popularity.

Doesnt it seem like the government and law enforcement should somehow be able to stop cyber dealers from selling drugs to our kids online? The sad truth is its nearly impossible for these entities to keep up with the expansiveness and anonymity of the web.

Columbia Universitys National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse has studied the phenomenon and says bad guys can too easily tweak websites and often offer no identifying information that could help track down the companies. Plus, the drugs makeups are constantly changing, making them hard to nail down. Brian Besser, the agent in charge of the state of Utah for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, says, Its like playing Whac-A-Mole at the fair. As soon as you take care of one, another one pops up. Especially with these synthetic drugs or these designer drugs. They are manmade, so all a chemist has to do is tweak his recipe just slightly chemically maybe change a molecule here or there and you can have a completely different drug and now its no longer illegal but the euphoric effects are very similar to the one that is illegal.

What can parents do to try and ensure this dangerous trend stays out of their homes?

Talk to your children about the danger of drugs. It may have been a while since you discussed drugs in your home. Kids need to know that even legal, prescription drugs can be abused. Parents can explain how some drugs can be deadly just by touching them. It needs to be a "not even once" policy.

Closely monitor Internet usage. Put the family computer in a common area. This tip is an oldie, but a goodie. Its really hard to know whats happening on a computer in a kids bedroom. Also, make sure to periodically check browser histories.

Download parental control software. PCmag has ranked the best for 2016. Parents can also go into parental controls and simply block any websites that could be a potential problem.

Monitor your childrens bank statements. If a child is old enough to have a debit or credit card, parents should be checking those statements for irregular usage.

Hire someone. If mom and dad have no idea how to keep their kids safe online, there is no shame in hiring a professional to safeguard tech at your home.
Sign up for our E-Newsletters
How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
ce406c66b9871a104ac24256a687e4821d75680dcfc89d9e5398939543f7f88f
A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
Latest Obituaries