Top Justice Department Official Calls on Social Media Companies to Do More as Teens Die From Fentanyl

Landen Hausman, a high school sophomore, died in January after buying fentanyl-laced Percocet through a dealer on social media. His family found him collapsed on the bathroom floor and tried to revive him with CPR, but it was too late.

“Sometimes with fentanyl you don’t get a second chance,” his father Marc Hausman told CBS News.

Hausman said his son probably did not recognize that counterfeit Percocet could be laced with fentanyl.

“He basically bought two of these counterfeit Percocet pills,” Hausman said. “He took one. One killed him. We found the other one [in his bedroom].”

Sadly, Landen’s story is all too common. Last year, more than 100,000 Americans died from fentanyl — more deaths than there were of Americans killed in the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq combined. Deaths among teens have more than tripled since 2019.

The Drug Enforcement Administration says it is investigating more than 120 cases that involve social media. The agency has issued a warning about emoji code language dealers use to target young buyers.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, who oversees the DEA, says fentanyl is the agency’s top priority.