Drug dealers pushing deadly fentanyl are targeting our children via social media | Opinion

At just 16 years old, Mill Valley High School junior Cooper Davis had his entire life ahead of him. Cooper had a smile that could light up any room and an infectious, fun-spirited personality to match. Like most 16-year-old boys, Cooper loved adventure, extreme sports, skateboarding, mountain biking, rock climbing, snowboarding and wakeboarding. If there was an adventure to be had, Cooper was ready to accept the challenge.

But in a blink of an eye, Cooper’s journey was tragically cut short when he and his friends took what they thought was Percocet. The pills, acquired through social media, were counterfeit and made with lethal fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid painkiller that has morphed into an illicit and deadly poison. Fentanyl is the deadliest drug our nation has ever seen. It’s 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl is often referred to as a silent killer since it cannot be detected by taste, smell or sight when mixed with other drugs. That August night, three of the four teenagers survived. Cooper took half of a pill and died of fentanyl poisoning.

Cooper’s story is a heartbreaking reminder of the devastating realities of the fentanyl crisis and the urgent need for action and awareness to this nationwide epidemic.

Getting a counterfeit pill delivered to your door has become easier and cheaper for our kids than ordering a pizza. Cooper’s story, sadly, is not an isolated incident. With teenagers growing reliant on social media, a dangerous and deadly new drug threat has emerged: Criminal drug networks are using social media to target children and sell fake prescription pills and other dangerous drugs online. The Drug Enforcement Administration has found this new aged form of drug trafficking on social media platforms impacting our youth nationwide — across urban, suburban and rural communities.

International drug cartels are in our backyards, trafficking illicit fentanyl nationwide and setting up vast, sophisticated distribution networks on social media. The cartels are meeting our children where they are and weaponizing social media to create a one-stop shop for selling and delivering illegal pills, which often contain fentanyl. The DEA recently revealed that six out of every ten pills containing fentanyl have a potentially lethal dose.

A Kansan dies every day of fentanyl poisoning, and it now serves as the No. 1 cause of death nationwide among adults age 18 to 45. Shockingly, 1,200 Kansans have fallen victim to fentanyl poisoning, and the situation is worsening across the state every day as the cartels and drug dealers grow their footholds across Kansas. Local law enforcement officials have told us that they’re using naloxone — a medication that rapidly reverses the effects of opioid overdoses and saves lives in the event of a poisoning — more than ever before in our schools to save students from accidental overdoses.

The reality of this crisis is that fentanyl is here in Kansas, and drug dealers are targeting our children. Unfortunately, law enforcement doesn’t have the tools and resources to crack down on the online sales occurring on social media. In honor of Cooper’s memory and the countless others who have fallen victim to fentanyl poisoning, we have introduced the Cooper Davis Act. This bipartisan bill aims to address how fentanyl and other substances infiltrate our communities through social media by holding Big Tech accountable. It establishes a comprehensive framework for social media companies to report illegal activity they see, and this data would allow DEA analysts to further uncover criminal networks operating across various platforms. This vital information would also improve state and local law enforcement coordination efforts and help prevent another life from being lost. The Cooper Davis Act is a tribute to Cooper’s life and a testament to our collective commitment to fighting this battle on all fronts.

The magnitude of this issue demands attention, action and a united front, because our children do not know what they are up against. Parents, educators and the state must come together to shed light on the realities of the lethality and deceptiveness of this dangerous drug. We must equip ourselves with the knowledge needed to recognize the signs, protect our loved ones and support those affected by this crisis. Kansans must be united to protect our children and communities from the deadliest drug our nation has ever seen.

Cooper Davis, and the 1,200 Kansans who have lost their life to fentanyl poisoning, deserve our best fight.