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By paNOW Intern

"It's pretty easy"

Prince Albert teens say drugs easily accessible through social media

Mar 27, 2025 | 2:08 PM

Editors Note: This article was submitted by a high school intern who is doing a job shadow at paNOW.

In Prince Albert, high school students are finding it easy to access drugs, with many saying they’re able to get substances like weed, alcohol, and even more dangerous options. From messages on apps to casual interactions on the street, teens say they can obtain drugs with minimal effort.

“It’s pretty easy, like really easy,” said one student paNOW talked to.

They described how teens can message someone through Facebook Messenger and have drugs delivered to them almost immediately.

“You just need to know a person, and they bring it to you. It’s that simple.”

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According to the website drugfreekidscanda.org, after alcohol, cannabis is the second most used drug by youth in Canada and young people between the ages of 15 and 24 make up the largest group of cannabis users.

The teens paNOW spoke to said weed and alcohol are the most common substances, but some mentioned harder drugs and dangerous trends, like “horse tranq” (a powerful tranquilizer used for large animals) and “Galaxy gas” (compressed air or air duster used to get high) are also being used.

According to another high school student, the occurrence of drugs is common, especially at lunch breaks when students are more likely to gather in groups.

“You can see people hanging out, smoking up, or drinking around here,” they said. “It’s not just the drugs; it’s everything together.”

Despite a recent increase in overdoses in Saskatchewan linked to drugs contaminated with fentanyl, students paNOW spoke to said many teens are uninformed about its dangers.

“I don’t think a lot of the kids notice the danger of fentanyl,” one student commented. “It’s like, a grain of salt can kill you, but they don’t really think about it.”

For many teens, the pressure to fit in and have fun is overwhelming.

“It’s like kids can’t do fun or sports things, so they rely on these things,” one student said.

Others, like an 18-year-old addict paNOW spoke to, whose name is being withheld for privacy, said drugs are a way to cope.

“People say it’s easy to quit drugs but as soon as you try one substance and get addicted, its gonna lead to substance to substance… just chasing the next feeling of being high. That’s why I always tell people one time always hurts.”

Ashley Kosolowsky is an Addictions and Mental Health Outreach Counselor in Prince Albert. She said that based on her experience working with youth, a large population of kids are using cannabis on a regular basis. Alcohol use is a concern as well.

To identify the kids who may be using she said she looks for signs like lowered school attendance, causing fights within their home systems, getting kicked out of home, and eventually struggling to stay sober for long periods of time.

“What is often done about youth who have been using substances is connecting with a counselor and luckily, we have counselors at each of our high schools that specialize in addictions,” Kosolowsky said.

She also mentioned outpatient counseling services and three inpatient treatment options within Saskatchewan.

“I want people to know and understand that those who struggle with substance use need many different levels of support, and that it takes time. There is still a lot of judgement and misunderstanding of substance use, and many continue to not seek help for their use,” she said.

The Prince Albert Police Service used to have a school resource officer position, but they haven’t been able to fill it for a number of years due to staffing levels and call loads. Police Chief Patrick Nogier said officers do try and engage with any schools within their jurisdictions. As for investigating access of drugs by teens through social media, Nogier said they receive information from the public through intelligence reports. Intelligence reports are a combination of verified and unverified information about people causing harm in the community through illegal activity.

“Intelligence reports can be the catalyst for specific operational plans that aim to curb the use and sale of illicit drugs in our community,” Nogier said. “Proactive investigations involving social media platforms such as Facebook require a specific skillset and personnel. Although we have personnel who can navigate the Internet when required, our ability to navigate these environments is reactive versus proactive.”

As the use of social media to sell drugs to minors grows, parents across North America are trying to hold social media companies accountable. In California for example, families who lost children to fentanyl poisoning will now be able to move forward with lawsuits against Snapchat.

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