John,

Today I’m emailing you with an important public service announcement for all parents.

You may have heard recent stories of drug dealers targeting our kids on Instagram and Snapchat. Kids are getting messages on social media offering them counterfeit pills. What the kids don’t know is that these pills are actually laced with deadly doses of fentanyl. This past year, multiple kids have died from overdosing on a single pill. It’s absolutely tragic and the threat is rising everyday as drug dealers make more and more money with this strategy.

Take a look at this comparison from the DEA below. Would you be able to tell which pill is real and which is fake? Your kids probably can’t either.

As a father, this is my worst nightmare. That’s why I recently demanded immediate action from the Director of the Drug Enforcement Agency and have called for social media companies to do more to stop it.

In the meantime, I want to share a few tips that parents can take to keep their kids safe from this growing threat:

1. Talk to your kids about not accepting messages from people they don’t know.
2. Make sure your kids know the dangers of counterfeit pills. Only one pill could be deadly.
3. Stay alert and keep a watchful eye over your kids’ social media activity.

We have to take this seriously. I’ll keep you updated as we learn more and share any helpful advice I hear along the way.

- Josh