Buying drugs on the street has become a lot simpler in this generation, especially on college campuses. It’s easy to buy illegal drugs as many students use them at parties or use them to relax or to focus more. These drugs being easily available to students has become a problem. The easier it is to access the drugs; the more people use it. Beginning to use these drugs at a young age leads to possible addiction as the students get older. In places other than colleges and universities, illegal drugs are still easily available. Buying drugs on the street has become easy as social media has become more popular (lindakegey.com). Social media has become the perfect platform for people to buy and sell drugs. Most apps delete messages right after they are sent, leaving no trail. Dealers also frequently post the supply that they have so that users can see what is available. Social media accounts are also rarely monitored by parents and they are available to people of any age. The use of social media to buy illegal drugs is something that is difficult to stop but monitoring your child’s friends on each of these platforms could help. It is important to make sure they are not meeting up with anyone to go buy these drugs. Many dealers turn their location on while they are using the app so buyers can find them. This is extremely dangerous. Meeting a stranger in a random place could lead to violence and more illegal activity. 

As stated before, easier access to drugs in younger people may leader to later substance abuse (drugfree.org). A study found that teens who started using drugs earlier in life were more likely to use them when they got older. Through this study, it was concluded that the availability of drugs at home is a significant factor as the child grows up. It is crucial to be careful what your child is surrounded by. Teens getting illegal drugs at home is one preventable way they are accessing these drugs. It is not uncommon to see teens finding medications in their house and taking them. This is illegal as it is not prescribed to them. Adderall and opiate painkillers are commonly abused drugs by teenagers. Getting rid of any unused medication is crucial to help prevent these things from happening. Prescription drugs at home are fueling the teenager’s addiction. Marijuana was proven to be the most accessible illicit drug that people have access to. It is closely followed by prescription drugs. Although many states have made marijuana legal, it is not yet legal all over the country. In Pennsylvania, marijuana is only legal for medical use.  

In order to solve this easy access to prescription drugs through black markets and street selling of drugs, the Government should enforce stricter laws against illegally selling prescription drugs. People in positions of power starting to enforce more intense laws and restrictions would make it a lot more difficult for individuals to buy illegal drugs on the streets. This could be done by government officials enforcing stricter punishments. Being more strict with punishing those who break these laws would evoke more fear in people buying and selling these drugs illegally. If they see someone being punished for doing the exact same thing that they do, it would most likely make them second guess their actions. People learn by watching others. If people are being prosecuted for this illegal activity, it would set the tone for the rest of the citizens. This, hopefully, would make them a lot more fearful of breaking the law. Another solution could also be increasing funding for drug crime units in communities that are plagued with the opioid addiction. Bringing more awareness and funding to this cause would make it easier for drug crime units to prosecute those are selling the illegal drugs. Hopefully, this would lead them to get the help that they need through rehabilitation services.  

Although we can hope that bringing awareness to drug crime units would lead users to getting the help that they need, that is not always the case. Sometimes, people with addictions will end up in jail for longer periods of time rather than the necessary rehabilitation. That is an issue that many users face. Once they are prosecuted, they go to jail instead of rehab. They do not get the help that they need in these jail facilities. As strict as these facilities can be, people always find different ways to obtain their drug of choice. Giving users the opportunity to go to rehab instead of doing more jail time would benefit society tremendously. Drug treatment would help users more in the long run so they do not resort to drugs in the future. Bringing more funding to this cause is a beneficial solution to the issues at hand.   

Written by: Jaylynn Davis