More and more young fentanyl users are turning to social media apps for their next Fentanyl high.
It’s as easy as ordering up, getting on a social media app and it can be at your house – depending on traffic, within 30 minutes,” said Fresno Police Detective Dean Cardinale.
Det. Cardinale is a 26-year law enforcement veteran. He says he has never seen anything like the boom in fentanyl cases here in the San Joaquin Valley. For the last two years, he has been a part of the Fentanyl Overdose Resolution Team or F.O.R.T. with the DEA Task Force. According to the Department of Justice, F.O.R.T. is a multiagency team composed of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Fresno Police Department.
The program is two-pronged: enforcement and education through presentations given at high schools across the Valley featuring a panel of experts including mental health officials, Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, Fresno Police, and the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.
Young adult Fentanyl users are typically 14 to 21 years old, many in high school. Now with the back-to-school season fast approaching, F.O.R.T is on high alert expecting an uptick in Valley cases. Det. Cardinale says every parent should worry today.
“I think we’re going to see an increase, you know. They’re getting back to meeting up with their friends. The vaping is going to come back in full force, and I think we’re going to start seeing an increase in overdose, in overdose deaths,” said Det. Cardinale.
Images from a previous case now closed were provided to FOX26 News by law enforcement showing how an online seller will use social media to post what drugs are available for purchase for that specific day including time of deliveries. For example, a Fentanyl-laced Percocet M-30 pill can cost the buyer between $20 to $30 a pill. The seller will also feature Xanax, “MUHA MINIS”, which is lingo used for vape cartridges, starting at $40 a cartridge.
When these predators wake up in the morning, this is what the kids can choose from, right from the comforts of their bedrooms,” said Det. Cardinale.
Det. Cardinale describes vaping as the gateway drug that leads to more serious drug use including cocaine and Fentanyl. The vape pens contain THC resin which potentially holds up to 60 percent of THC inside the cartridge. According to the FDA, THC is the abbreviation for the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol, which is a psychoactive component or substance of the marijuana plant.