Officials say Internet can be gateway to teen drug abuse

The drug dealers had come into our living room through the Internet
From the Modesto Bee.

Like many teenagers in the Internet age, Ryan Haight used his computer for innocent ventures. He surfed chat rooms with friends, played fantasy baseball and bought baseball cards on eBay.

But Haight also did something authorities say an increasing number of teens do online: He purchased prescription drugs. And in 2001, at age 18, the San Diego area teen died from an overdose.

"The drug dealers had come into our living room through the Internet," Haight's mother, Francine, said Thursday in Sacramento, standing with federal and state authorities trying to spread the message of how dangerous prescription drugs are.

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