The pushing of drugs on popular social media apps such as Snapchat and Instagram is becoming a problem. Now, the government is being urged to force these platforms to turn in drug dealing accounts to the police.
This comes as a quarter of young people (ages 16 – 24) reported seeing cannabis, cocaine, and other drugs for sale on social media apps. Some have seen heroin, ketamine and synthetic cannabinoids aka “spice” for sale.
More and more dealers are uploading photos and videos of drugs, often times on disappearing stories, and asking users to contact them directly. Emojis and encrypted messaging are used to avoid detection.
Upon investigating, The Telegraph was able to find more than 10 accounts within an hour, selling cannabis, cocaine and Xanax via social media. The accounts were later removed after being turned in to Instagram.
As for the codes — a horse represents ketamine, a nose or snowflake represents cocaine, and a pig, rat or snake signals an account that works with moderators or the police.
Drugs for Sale On Social Media
Source: The Telegraph