“Connecting with a local dealer took mere minutes,” the report said.ĭealers advertise drugs using slang, emojis, QR codes and disappearing messages that help reach customers while evading content moderation tools on the social media platforms, the report said. But research suggests that drug dealers and buyers turn to the internet and social media platforms “as a primary vehicle for drug transactions.”Ī search for “Denver” and “Boulder” on the Kik messaging app returned dozens of results for groups dedicated to selling and buying drugs that were open to the public, the report showed. It didn’t quantify exactly how large the online illicit drug market has become, citing limited access to the social media platforms’ data. Many of those people are taking fentanyl without realizing it, as the cheap synthetic opioid is cut into other drugs like cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.Īs many as six in 10 counterfeit prescription pills contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl, the report said. In 2021, at least 1,881 Coloradans died of a drug overdose and roughly half of those people died of fentanyl, according to state data.
Officials spoke with former drug users and sellers and families of overdose victims for the report. “Where once a teen might have had to seek out a street dealer, hassle friends, or learn to navigate the dark web to access illicit drugs, young people can now locate drug dealers using their smartphones - with the relative ease of ordering food delivery or calling a ride-share service,” Weiser wrote in the report.
With the rise of social media apps, their convenience and lack of regulation, platforms including TikTok, Snapchat and WhatsApp, have become a major vehicle for drug sales, the report said. The report, which the attorney general’s office is calling first of its kind, was written under a state law passed in 2022 that requires the Colorado Department of Law to study how the internet and social media platforms are used for the sale and distribution of fentanyl and other counterfeit prescription drugs. Social media made buying drugs about as easy as ordering pizza Close
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