Utah parents urged to talk to kids about fentanyl as school year begins

SALT LAKE CITY — As students head back to school across Utah this week, law enforcement and educators are encouraging parents to have conversations with their children about the dangers of illegal drugs, especially fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid blamed for thousands of overdose deaths nationwide.

The Drug Enforcement Administration warns that social media, smartphones and digital payment apps have made it easier than ever for young people to come into contact with drug dealers.

"If your child has a cell phone, they have access to a drug dealer," said DEA spokesperson Miguel Chino.

According to the DEA, drug traffickers increasingly use emojis as coded language to market and sell drugs online. Certain emoji combinations can represent specific drugs, allowing users to communicate without explicitly mentioning illegal substances.

"You can order up pills with emojis, and certain emojis together mean you're ordering different types of drugs," Chino said.

Marijuana, for example, may be represented by tree or leaf emojis, while cocaine can be referenced with symbols such as a magic eight ball, a key or a snowflake.

The coded messages can be difficult for parents to recognize.

"You might be able to look at that phone, but you have no idea what they're saying because the conversation is all based on emojis," Chino said. "You wouldn't even know what they're ordering or what they're doing because you have to have some code to decipher what the emojis are actually saying."

DEA officials say parents should remind children never to take medication that was not prescribed specifically for them.

"If a doctor didn't prescribe it and it didn't come from a pharmacy, you shouldn't put that medication in your mouth," Chino said.

The agency says more than 73,000 people nationwide have died from fentanyl overdoses this year. Chino said Utah families should not assume the problem exists only in larger cities or other states.

"I think a lot of times all of us have our heads in the sand about what's going on, especially here in the state of Utah," he said. "We might think this is not our problem, but it is a problem here in the state of Utah."

Community organizations are also working to prevent substance abuse among young people. Fentanyl-Free America has launched a national awareness campaign focused on education and overdose prevention.

Educators say involvement in sports, clubs and extracurricular activities can help reduce the likelihood of substance use.

"If we can get them involved in sports, clubs, other groups and activities, then those are really powerful protective factors against getting involved in negative outcomes like substance use," said Paul Edmunds of Granite School District.

Edmunds said parents play a critical role by staying engaged in their children's lives.

"Know their friends. Know what's happening at school. Just be involved, because that's a huge factor in helping our students have positive outcomes," he said.

Officials encourage parents, teachers and community members to talk openly with children about the risks of fentanyl and other illegal drugs. Health experts say fentanyl remains a leading cause of death among Americans ages 18 to 45, making awareness and prevention efforts especially important as students return to the classroom.

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