ABSTRACT
Objectives: Rates of illicit prescription pill use are increasingly high among young people, and overdoses are among the leading causes of preventable death. The authors aimed to review recent literature on the use of controlled substances, such as opioids and benzodiazepines, among teenagers and young adults in the United States. Specifically, the authors explored how these drugs are being obtained via social media platforms. The authors sought to determine how common, and how dangerous, this practice has been since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Resources were also reviewed for education and treatment of substance use to combat this ongoing crisis. Method(s): A literature search was conducted using the MEDLINE/PubMed database to identify papers describing the use of controlled substances among teenagers and young adults in the United States. The authors identified studies and reviewed articles published in English between 2018 and 2022 (inclusive), searching keywords including "fentanyl," "opioids," "benzodiazepines," "substance abuse," and "social media." Results: The initial search resulted in over 1000 papers. After careful review, the authors focused on a subset of data that included adolescent and young adult populations, during the time period since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and including evidence of drug access via internet and social media platforms. While there are multiple examples of substance use and overdose-associated deaths in adolescent populations, data are limited about the prevalence of fentanyl-induced overdose from substances obtained by youth through social media. Federal data included the striking statistic that, while overall substance use by teenagers has decreased over the past decade, the rate of fentanyl-associated deaths has more than doubled in the past 3 years. Conclusion(s): With the pandemic-associated isolation syndemic and the abundance of social media platforms at the fingertips of adolescents and young adults, the opioid crisis continues now as fentanyl, a synthetic opioid drug, surreptitiously leads to lethal overdoses. More research, and more awareness, is needed to educate our youth, caretakers, teachers, and providers about life-threatening consequences associated with substance use, including in the form of pills obtained via social media. SUD, ADOL, MED Copyright © 2022