Social media and Drug 101: How common is drug dealing on social media?

When discussing illicit drugs, we often associate them with the dark web or crypto markets. However, there are also lone wolf sellers who operate on social media. How do they make themselves known?

1. They make reference to subcultures such as drug or gang culture. For example, they may use subculture-related photos or colors on their profile, or even display criminal figures associated with gangs.
2. They directly state their intentions on their profile using insider language.

Extensive literature has revealed the prevalence of drug dealing on social media. So why can’t social media platforms like Facebook take action and deactivate these dealers’ accounts?

Firstly, the criminal cues are often subtle and mainly reference insider culture. The platform administrators may not understand these cues, making it difficult for them to identify and ban these accounts. Additionally, the buyers and sellers communicate using insider language, which leaves no suspicious traces for the administrators to detect and deactivate their accounts.

Secondly, the criminals operate using multiple accounts. Even if an administrator bans one account, it only causes minimal harm to the dealers’ business. Therefore, relying solely on account deactivation is ineffective.

Drug crime is a challenging issue to tackle. Instead of completely eradicating it, governments often focus on controlling or minimizing the harm caused by drug abuse.