The confirmed deaths of two 13-year-old Utah boys from a newer synthetic form of heroin is a tragic reminder that too many drugs are readily available to our youth. A drug often referred to as “pink,” or U-47700 — which costs about $40 online — is a drug virtually any of our children can purchase and have sent to them.

Toxicology tests came back late this week on Ryan Ainsworth and Grant Seaver, best friends whose bodies were found a day apart in September, in their respective Park City, Utah, homes.

Parents often suspect drug abuse but are afraid to confront their children or try to find excuses for the behavior.

U-47700 is among a new generation of drugs being synthesized in labs overseas and is too new as a recreational drug even to be listed as illegal. But “pink” is said to be eight times more powerful than heroin — and the drugs currently being used to revive overdose victims of other drugs are no match for this deadly new product.

The drug arrived in Park City after other local teens ordered it from China, according to search warrants. One teenager has been charged with distribution of a controlled substance and reckless endangerment.

Police weren’t sure what had killed the boys until they found both had been talking about U-47700 on a social media account.

“It’s important for parents to monitor their kids internet activity,” said Keith Graves, a gang and narcotics unit supervisor and Drug Recognition Expert Instructor in the San Francisco Bay Area. He added that it’s important to remember parents are parents — not friends.

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“If you see something suspicious in their browser history, you should follow up on that. Look at their cell phones and see what they are looking at online. Inspect all packages that come to your home. Most importantly, watch your kids’ behavior. Do they have new friends you’re not thrilled about? Have their grades suddenly dropped? What about their physical appearance — has that changed? Many times, parents suspect drug abuse, but they are afraid to confront their children or they try to find excuses for the behavior. You can’t afford to do that in today’s world. Drugs are everywhere and the drug world sure isn’t like when we were kids,” he told LifeZette.

Drugs like U-47700 are becoming more popular every day, according to Graves. They are in a class of drugs commonly referred to as “research chemicals,” which include synthetic cathinones (commonly called bath salts) and synthetic cannabis (commonly called spice). They’re popular because they’re easy to obtain and legislatively, the U.S. struggles to identify these new chemicals that are emerging and then prohibit their use, possession or sale.

“I think we will continue to see a substantial rise in drugs like these coming into the illicit drug marketplace,” said Graves. U-47700 may just be the tip of the iceberg.

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“There’s Fentanyl, Cartfentanil and other drugs that are way more powerful than heroin. If we think we had a heroin problem, just wait for this wave to hit us. We already have clusters of deaths where unsuspecting addicts thought they were using heroin — but in actuality, they were using a much more potent opiate they were not expecting.”

He added with urgency that parents must know what their kids have access to: “You can go online and order these chemicals from suppliers in China for as little as $40 a gram. They will also guarantee your shipment if it is intercepted by Customs. They will also give you tips about how to hide your shipment from authorities. Then, when they come into the U.S., a guy takes that package to his basement, where he uses a pill press he bought on Amazon to punch out pills that look exactly like regular prescribed medication. He can manufacture 1,000 pills a day that look exactly like an everyday medication.”