Selling Weed on Instagram: a New Kind of Drug
Selling Weed on Instagram: a New Kind of Drug
Drug traffickers gradually leave the streets and move to social networks. This time the Internet has been flooded by a new kind of drug ‒ the strongest type of glass-like cannabis.
Drug traffickers write that their products are “not for sale” to distract suspicion from them. They often write usernames for applications with encrypted messages. This is done to communicate with customers in instant messengers that encrypt information. It is written on many pages that the product, which they post on the network, is used only for personal purposes. The most striking example is Harry Dabs Instagram profile.
Sellers also use emojis as a code for advertising weed on Instagram, without violating the rules of social networks. Dealers are very sophisticated in conducting their fraud, using the rules of resources for their own purposes.
The heavy-duty mostly yellow substance ‒ in the form of wax or glass ‒ has an extremely high level of THC. It is from 50 to 80 percent. Any dose can send a person to the hospital.
The Cabin Group said: “Although an overdose is usually not fatal, those who have tried this drug are complaining about general malaise. Also, prolonged use of the drug can lead to loss of consciousness and temporary insanity. Using this drug can also cause panic attacks and lead to a coma.”
At the moment, the greatest distribution of the new drug is carried out in the UK and naturally attracts young people who want to try everything in their life. Some dealers have become so confident that they fearlessly create accounts for selling weed on Instagram and almost make a supermarket out of them. There any teenager can take an imaginary trolley and drive past goods carefully stored on shelves by dealers. They describe their product in such a vivid way that even a person who doesn’t need this shit, pay attention to the colorful jars. They don’t forget about marketing. They make cute labels, and the most arrogant even managed to come up with a variety of flavors for those addicts who want to breathe smoke with strawberry. So there have already appeared products in the net with the intriguing names: Monster, Grape Jelly, and Wedding Cake.
Naturally, such a drug, gaining popularity, could not get past the eyes of law enforcement officers.
Chief Inspector Alan Cairns, an employee of the organized criminal group of the Northumbria Police, said: “Do you understand that this is not simple cannabis? This is a powerful thing that is dangerous for both the buyer and those who produce it. The greatest risk to humans during the manufacture of this product is the use of flammable gas. Drug dealers use it for chemical treatment of plants. They’re not only engaged in a life-threatening business, but they also have a chance of being put in jail.”
He added that drug traffickers shouldn’t forget about the criminal liability that drug sales entailed.
Major social networks such as Instagram and Snapchat received instructions from the government. They were told to report about all people suspected of distributing and selling drugs. This was done after the third part of young people said they saw an advertisement for illegal drugs while watching applications on social networks.
An Instagram spokesman said: “We are against the sale and distribution of illegal or prescription drugs on our social network. We work closely with the police to identify and hide illegal materials from our service. ”
The administration of Instagram urged people to report such content immediately. This will help them take appropriate measures to protect people.
A Home Office spokesperson said:
“You must understand how serious this situation is. We cannot just turn a blind eye to this and will eradicate this problem with all our strength. Our employees report new violations of the law on the sale of drugs every day. And despite the tricks of dealers, we created a special unit for identifying and arresting illegal citizens who terrorize the Internet. These people don’t even boast about selling drugs to children and they are doing real, tangible harm with their actions. This has become a global danger for our community. We will find each drug dealer and send them to prison. We are working closely with social networks and are currently developing a reliable neural network that will quickly remove illegal content”.
What’s more, the new drug surprised the public with the cost of a product that is almost equivalent to the cost of gold. This drug, which has now become known as a shutter or wax, typically sells for 35,2 euro per one gram – in comparison you can buy 22 carat scrap gold for around 37.1 Euro a gram.
