PRESCRIPTION DRUG MISUSE
DOWNLOAD: EMOJI DRUG CODE | DECODED
This reference guide is intended to give parents, caregivers, educators, and other influencers a better sense of how emojis are being used in conjunction with illegal drugs. Fake prescription pills, commonly laced with deadly fentanyl and methamphetamine, are often sold on social media and e-commerce platforms – making them available to anyone with a smartphone.
Find out more about "You Think You Know," a public awareness campaign in CT.
Kids Can Buy Drugs Easier Than You Think
What You Need to Know About Drugs on Social Media
Kids used to have limited options for where they could get drugs: friends at school, medicine cabinets or on the street. Now they don’t even have to leave the house. Buying drugs online has become increasingly popular and drug dealers are targeting kids on social media.
How Does it Work?
Snapchat and Instagram are the popular platforms for this, but it happens on other platforms too. Dealers post photos with captions that include hashtags, emojis and instructions for contacting the them. Communication and transactions usually occur off of the site using encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp or Kik. The buyer can pay using a service like Venmo and the product is shipped to their door. Sometimes people do choose to meet in person and pay with cash.
80%
of heroin users started by abusing RX drugs.
93%
of drug-related deaths in CT in 2018 involved an opioid.
70%
of youth who abuse RX drugs get them from family or friends.
1 in 10
of CT high school students reported taking RX pain medications without a RX or differently than prescribed.
COMMONLY ABUSED PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
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Opioid Pain Relievers (e.g. OxyContin, Vicodin)
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Depressants (e.g. Xanax, Valium)
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Stimulants (e.g. Adderall, Ritalin)
WHAT ARE OPIOIDS?
Opioids are a class of drugs that include heroin as well as powerful pain relievers available legally by prescription, such as oxycodone (OxyContin®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), codeine, morphine, fentanyl, and many others. Regular use—even as prescribed by a doctor—can produce dependence, and when misused, opioid pain relievers can lead to a fatal overdose.
Long-term use of prescription opioids, even when used as prescribed, can cause some people to develop a tolerance, which means a person needs a higher dose and/or a more frequent dose of the drug to get the same effect.
WARNING SIGNS OF OPIOID ADDICTION
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The strong desire to use opioids
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The inability to control or reduce use of opioids
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Development of a tolerance
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Showing signs of withdrawal after stopping or reducing use
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Difficulty meeting social and/or work commitments
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Experiencing legal problems due to substance use
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Spending large amounts of time accessing opioids
Source: drugfreect.org
XYLAZINE: AN EMERGING THREAT
“Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even de