Hyderabad: Illegal drug sales on social media platforms like Facebook and X are on the rise. Drugs like cannabis, LSD, xanax and oxycodone are being sold openly on social media, often with enticing offers like same-day delivery and discounts.
An X account offers narcotics like blotting LSD paper, cannabis, xanax, magic mushrooms, THC vapes and percocet pills. To make matters worse, images of the drugs are posted alongside with account handler offering tempting same day delivery of the contraband.
Another team sells drugs like cannabis on its Facebook group, which has 3,200 followers. Even platforms like Reddit have subreddits sell drugs although Reddit keeps removing the subreddits and bans the accounts.
The flourishing online drug trade has serious consequences. Not only does it push for substance abuse and addiction, it also normalises drug use.
Previously, drugs were sold on darknet websites like Silk Road, AlphaBay and Utopia, but these were banned by the government and FBI traced and caught the market runners. But now, as social media platforms ease up their content moderation rules, drug dealers are starting to bring their products into the mainstream social media.
Both police and social media platforms are increasing efforts to combat this illicit trade, with social media platforms implementing stricter policies and police tracking down the account holders.
A cybercrime official said “dealers who used to sell drugs to a limited number of people before, now have an entire social media platform’s audience to interact with. We are constantly trying to trace the accounts and catch hold of them.”
