Hassan: drug dealers targetting kids on social media

CLAREMONT, N.H. (WCAX) - New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan is issuing a warning to parents about new dangers associated with the internet. She says kids who buy illicit drugs through social media and other avenues may not always be getting what they think.

“It’s really, really important that parents talk to their kids,” Hassan said during a visit last week to Grafton County’s computer forensic lab, where online drug trafficking is investigated.

She says that means talking to kids about drugs and the dealers who could be targeting them online. “When young people sometimes look for prescription drugs like Adderall on the web, they can be in danger of getting a substance that is laced with Fentanyl.”

Local police say they are not going to be able to arrest their way out of the problem. “It’s not going to be a heavy-handed law enforcement approach or a social services approach. I think it has to be tackled from all 360 degrees,” said Claremont Police Chief Brent Wilmot.

His department recently received a $340,000 grant from the New Hampshire Department of Justice to help those who struggle with substance use disorder. “We are going to try to connect these folks who are struggling with people in the community who are both in recovery and in long-term recovery and connect them to services that maybe they are not aware of so that they can have better outcomes, whether that is through the criminal justice system or through life itself,” Wilmot said.

And more advice for parents -- officials say it’s important to know where your kids are going when they log on and to take precautions to limit or control the access they have to the internet.

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