{"id":48371,"date":"2026-05-22T13:12:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T18:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/social-media-and-drug-sales-fast-access-real-consequences\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T15:20:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T20:20:41","slug":"social-media-and-drug-sales-fast-access-real-consequences","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/social-media-and-drug-sales-fast-access-real-consequences\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Media and Drug Sales: Fast Access, Real Consequences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1>\n\t\t\t<b>Social Media and Drug Sales:<br \/>Fast Access, Real Consequences<\/b>\t<\/h1>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/yellow-ring.png\" alt=\"yellow-ring\" height=\"51\" width=\"48\" title=\"yellow-ring\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n\tPractical information for parents of adolescents.\n\t<p class=\"lead\">Social media has become a platform for substance sales among youth. This discreet yet widespread phenomenon affects more and more adolescents-often without their families even realizing it.<\/p>\n<p>At Portage, we support young people every year who have been exposed to this type of trafficking. This page brings together our informational content and practical tools to help parents better understand this reality and start the conversation with their teens.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What you&#8217;ll find on this page<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Video capsules featuring personal stories<\/li>\n<li>Webinars and presentations<\/li>\n<li>Reference articles<\/li>\n<li>Practical tools for awareness and prevention<\/li>\n<li>Content designed to speak directly to young people<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\t<h2>Understanding the reality<\/h2>\n<h3>Social media make it easier to access substances<\/h3>\n\t<p>Discover a series of video clips featuring young people in therapy and counsellors sharing their experiences and insights on drug sales through social media. These videos explore topics such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How youth are approached online<\/li>\n<li>The normalization of the phenomenon<\/li>\n<li>Marketing strategies used by dealers<\/li>\n<li>How to talk about substance use with an adolescent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Webinar-Ads-2024-Social-Media-Post.png\" alt=\"Webinar Ads 2024 (Social Media Post)\" height=\"900\" width=\"1700\" title=\"Webinar Ads 2024 (Social Media Post)\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t<em>&#8220;They sent me pictures like a menu, showing everything they had. You choose, you reply, and they come deliver it.&#8221;<br \/>\n<\/em><br \/>\n<em>&#8220;It&#8217;s like Uber Eats, but for drugs.&#8221;<\/em>\n\t<iframe allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\" data-src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1152234311?color&amp;autopause=0&amp;loop=0&amp;muted=0&amp;title=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;byline=0&amp;h&amp;share=copy&amp;fl=sv&amp;fe=ci\" title=\"Trapped By The Algorythm\"><\/iframe>\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPlay Video\n\t\t\tTrapped By The Algorythm\n\t<iframe allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\" data-src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1125314942?color&amp;autopause=0&amp;loop=0&amp;muted=0&amp;title=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;byline=0&amp;h\" title=\"It's not supposed to be this easy!\"><\/iframe>\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPlay Video\n\t\t\tIt&#8217;s not supposed to be this easy!\n\t<iframe allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\" data-src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1125320627?color&amp;autopause=0&amp;loop=0&amp;muted=0&amp;title=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;byline=0&amp;h\" title=\"How can a parent talk to their teen about substance use?\"><\/iframe>\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPlay Video\n\t\t\tHow can a parent talk to their teen about substance use?\n<h3>\n\t\t\tWebinar\t<\/h3>\n\t<p><strong>A Moment for Dialogue and Reflection<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Portage hosted a webinar titled\u00a0<em>Social Media and Drug Sales &#8211; Fast Access, Real Consequences<\/em>, designed for parents, counsellors, and professionals in the field. This webinar offers:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Testimonials from youth and counsellors<\/li>\n<li>Recent data on the phenomenon<\/li>\n<li>Concrete intervention strategies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Social-Media-and-Drug-Sales_Fast-Access-Real-Consequences-document_v2.pdf\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"    rel=\"noopener\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload the presentation\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<iframe allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\" data-src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1164013913?color&amp;autopause=0&amp;loop=0&amp;muted=0&amp;title=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;byline=0&amp;h&amp;share=copy&amp;fl=sv&amp;fe=ci\"><\/iframe>\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPlay Video\n<h2>\n\t\t\tBlog Articles on This Topic\t<\/h2>\n\t<h3>Want to open the discussion with your teenager?<\/h3>\n\t<p>Here is some special content to help him make a decision.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/freedom-from-addiction\/\"  target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis way\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<h2>Additional content<\/h2>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/resources-for-counsellors\/\"  target=\"_self\" itemprop=\"url\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/lili-kovac-IMpmnH2IC98-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"lili-kovac-IMpmnH2IC98-unsplash\" height=\"533\" width=\"800\" title=\"lili-kovac-IMpmnH2IC98-unsplash\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/resources-for-counsellors\/\">Youth, Mental Health, and Self-Medication<\/a><\/h3>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/resources-for-counsellors\/\"  target=\"_self\" itemprop=\"url\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Parent-et-ados.jpg\" alt=\"Parent et ados\" height=\"1365\" width=\"2048\" title=\"Parent et ados\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/resources-for-counsellors\/\">Teens and Drugs: How to Talk to Them About Substance Use<\/a><\/h3>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tAdolescent and Young Adult Programs (14-21)\t<\/h3>\n\t\t<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"\/en\/quebec\/french-adolescent-program-west\/\"  target=\"_self\" itemprop=\"url\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/202208_Portage_0194.jpg\" alt=\"202208_Portage_0194\" height=\"1365\" width=\"2048\" title=\"202208_Portage_0194\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/figure>\n<h4><a href=\"\/en\/quebec\/french-adolescent-program-west\/\" target=\"_self\">Quebec &#8211; Laurentians<\/a><\/h4><p>For youth from Western Quebec<\/p>\n\t\t<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"\/en\/atlantic\/adolescent-program\/\"  target=\"_self\" itemprop=\"url\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/202208_Portage_0206-photoshop-scaled.png\" alt=\"202208_Portage_0206-photoshop\" height=\"1707\" width=\"2560\" title=\"202208_Portage_0206-photoshop\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/figure>\n<h4><a href=\"\/en\/atlantic\/adolescent-program\/\" target=\"_self\">New Brunswick, Cassidy Lake<\/a><\/h4><p>For youth from the Atlantic provinces<\/p>\n\t\t<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"\/en\/quebec\/french-adolescent-program-east\/\"  target=\"_self\" itemprop=\"url\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/20220912_Saint_Malachie_0247.jpg\" alt=\"20220912_Saint_Malachie_0247\" height=\"1365\" width=\"2048\" title=\"20220912_Saint_Malachie_0247\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/figure>\n<h4><a href=\"\/en\/quebec\/french-adolescent-program-east\/\" target=\"_self\">Quebec &#8211; Chaudi\u00e8re-Appalaches<\/a><\/h4><p>For francophone youth from Eastern Quebec<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Social Media and Drug Sales:Fast Access, Real Consequences Practical information for parents of adolescents. Social media has become a platform for substance sales among youth. This discreet yet widespread phenomenon affects more and more adolescents-often without their families even realizing it. At Portage, we support young people every year who have been exposed to this&#8230;  <a href=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/social-media-and-drug-sales-fast-access-real-consequences\/\" class=\"more-link\" title=\"Read Social Media and Drug Sales: Fast Access, Real Consequences\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":10157,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-full-width.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-48371","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48371"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48419,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48371\/revisions\/48419"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}