Posted at 5:00 am.
Ariane Lacoursière investigative team, La Presse
“It’s faster and easier”
PHOTOMONTAGE THE PRESS
Vicky*, 14, has addiction problems. She gets her supplies online. His gateway is always the same: social networks.
On a palm tree-filled wallpaper, a retailer says he has Xanax, Speed, and OxyContin 30 mg for sale. Another announces a contest to win cannabis vapers. Anyone who shares the post on their Instagram account is eligible to enter.
Once present in provincial schoolyards, resellers are now very present on social networks. They use simple tricks like replacing the “a” in a word with an “@” to showcase their wares with impunity — without getting caught by recognition software — and woo their often very young customers, La Presse noted.
“It’s easy. It’s very easy to get medicine like this. […] I understand that parents are concerned. You’re right,” says Carole Demers, planning, program and research officer at the Mobilis program in Longueuil.
Two channels
Vicky*, 14, has addiction problems. The teenager, who lives in a youth center, has been using cannabis too often for the past two years. She says she gets her supplies online. His gateway is always the same: social networks. “It’s quicker and easier,” she says. Vicky also likes the fact that she doesn’t have to interact directly with a reseller: communication is mostly done through electronic exchanges.
Ms Demers explains that there are two main channels young people use to get their supplies online. You may be redirected from social networks to “established” websites where you can pay for purchases by credit card and have goods delivered by post.
SCREENSHOT OF A RETAILER’S INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
Some resellers offer promotions to attract customers…
SCREENSHOT OF A RETAILER’S INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
… while others go there for competitions.
SCREENSHOT OF A RETAILER’S INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
Promotion winners are reflected in a reseller’s account.
SCREENSHOT OF A RETAILER’S INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
A reseller invites its subscribers to “gift him”. [leur] “Order yours today” before listing a long list of products for sale.
SCREENSHOT OF A RETAILER’S INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
Sometimes customers and resellers set a meeting point. Delivery can also be contactless.
SCREENSHOT OF A RETAILER’S INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
Resellers use simple letter and cartoon tricks to display their wares with impunity.
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However, the most popular method for teens is through reseller accounts that use social media for promotion. There, “small traders have found a new platform” – a “gold mine” – to present their products, explains Ms. Demers.
What used to be done verbally on the street corner has been relocated to the platforms and is used by young people in the best possible way and in all winds.
Carole Demers, Planning, Program and Research Officer at the Mobilis program in Longueuil
Véronique Roy, Human Relations Agent and Psychopedagogue at CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, helps young people overcome their drug problems. She notes that the majority of her customers buy through social media and avoid websites that require a credit card.
Also, as many young people live with their parents, they do not want their goods delivered to their homes. Sometimes customers and resellers set a meeting point. “It happens near schools, in shopping malls. Almost everywhere,” remarks Ms. Demers.
The delivery can also be “contactless”, explains Ms. Demers. “There is often a point of contact between the reseller and the buyer. It could be in such a bush. So below deck…” she says. Payments are often made by bank transfer.
Search in Laval and Montreal
At the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), we say that we are “aware of the phenomenon of competitions and the promotion of drug sales on social networks”. The organization says it has had “a few cases” reported to it and investigations have been conducted in recent months.
In particular, on April 25, the SPVM disbanded a network for the illegal sale of cannabis products, aimed “particularly at young people”. “In particular, the police investigation revealed that the network used social media to sell its products. Transactions were also carried out in the vicinity of secondary schools,” says the SPVM press release. Two people, aged 19 and 20, emerged briefly this week in connection with the case.
On April 21, the Laval Police Department (SPL) announced the arrest of three people in connection with the online sale of narcotics. A first for the Laval police force. More than $1 million worth of merchandise was seized, including cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamines and Xanax.
When it comes to drug sales via social media, Quebec does not stand out.
Back in May 2021, French Interior Minister Gérard Darmanin called on Snapchat leaders to “take their responsibilities” and stop being “the social network of drugs.”
In the US, Amy Neville, whose 14-year-old son died in 2020 after consuming a pill containing fentanyl purchased on Snapchat, filed a lawsuit against Snap last year. In her petition, Ms Neville claims that Snapchat executives have known since 2017 that their platform was being used to connect minors and young adults with deadly drug dealers.
The risks of choice
For Ms Roy, the problem with selling and promoting drugs on social media is that it “encourages regular and larger-scale purchases”. And that it “opens curiosity about something else.”
In fact, while reviewing various ads posted by Quebec resellers on social media, La Presse found that one of them asked its subscribers to “place their order for today” before listing a long list of products for sale: “Loud, Waxpen , Eddies, Dilaudid 8 mg, Molly and Speed”.
PHOTO HUGO-SEBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Véronique Roy, Human Relations Officer and Psychoeducator at CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal
we can have it all Sometimes some young people go there according to their budget. But there is also the trap of bulk buying: we buy more to pay less. This can be problematic for young people with addiction problems.
Véronique Roy, Human Relations Officer and Psychoeducator at CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal
Asked about the impunity with which drug trafficking is practiced on its platforms, a spokesman for Meta, which specifically operates Instagram and Facebook, says the company “bans content”. […] promoting the buying and selling of pharmaceutical and non-medical drugs, including marijuana. “We delete them as soon as we discover them,” he says. Our goal is to constantly improve our processes and we intend to continue our efforts to keep Instagram safe, especially for the younger members of our community. Meta also says to rely on “the community” to denounce problematic sites. The company also asked La Presse to identify the reseller accounts consulted, but we refused.
Snap, the company behind Snapchat, says it has “a zero-tolerance policy towards drug dealers who misuse Snapchat to promote and sell dangerous drugs.” A spokesman says the company uses “advanced technologies, including machines Learning tools to proactively identify and remove illegal drug-related posts from their platform.” The company also states that it is “continuously evaluating ways to combat these illegal activities.”
On the SPVM page, we “invite people to file a complaint with the local police department if they see ads or contests related to cannabis or any other type of drug promoted on social media or online.”
For Ms. Roy, it is obvious that having a social network account and being virtual friends with certain retailers is now “easier to consume” than it used to be. “You used to have to know the retailer. Seeing him in person in the schoolyard… It added a certain barrier that doesn’t exist anymore,” she says.
* Fictitious first name
“You don’t take it seriously”
PHOTOMONTAGE THE PRESS
The daughter of Karine*, a resident of Mauricie, became involved in drug abuse four years ago when she was only 12 years old. Back then, she mainly bought cannabis vapes. In social networks. But one thing led to another: Consumption deteriorated. She is now addicted to opioids.
For Karine, who prefers to remain anonymous to protect her daughter’s identity, the ease with which her child was able to obtain supplies via social media is partly responsible for her descent into hell. “It’s too easy to get what you want and then be asked,” she says.
The mother points out that her daughter spends a lot of time on social networks. “It’s visceral. She was still there. She was always afraid of missing something […] When we took away her phone or access to social media, it was like having her hand chopped off,” says Karine.
Since consumption is expensive, Karine’s daughter, who is very anxious, also started selling drugs one day. She was expelled from her school. she ran away Tried to commit suicide. His family was affected by this crisis. With the support of her parents, Karine’s daughter completed a closed cure and is in rehabilitation. But her mother knows she will always be fragile.
For Karine, selling drugs on social media is “a scourge that will remain as long as the…” [propriétaires] will not do anything to remedy this.” “Right now it seems they are not taking the situation seriously,” she laments.
At Meta we explain that different protection mechanisms are in place. In particular, certain words or phrases are banned on Instagram and Facebook, such as #mdma or #buyfentanyl, and the company is considering adding more hashtags. But in December 2021, a report by the Tech Transparency Project revealed flaws in these mechanisms. According to the report, teens could still access opioids, xanax and ecstasy with just a few clicks on Instagram.
Once it’s closed, once it’s restarted
Most dealers who post advertisements for drug sales on social media use short-lived mechanisms like “stories” to present themselves, notes Carole Demers, planning, program and research officer at the Mobilis program in Longueuil.
The ads are often colorful.
There is a very playful side to many of the comments posted. A lot is played on social media. Young people in particular are attracted to it.
Carole Demers, Planning, Program and Research Officer at the Mobilis program in Longueuil
Ms. Demers points out that regardless of the platform used, resellers who get caught and have their account banned never waste time trying to find solutions. “Pseudonyms and all, it’s ephemeral. They are difficult to track. If their account is closed, they will reopen it under a different name. They always find each other among themselves,” she notes.
At Meta we add that “violators will always use the means necessary to circumvent our systems”. “We intend to continue improving the technology we use to detect and remove this type of content,” it said.
Advice for parents
A drug addict who works in schools in the greater Montreal area but prefers to remain anonymous to keep young people’s confidence alive points to the powerful appeal of social media for drug users. But she says we shouldn’t necessarily be alarmed. “The proportion of young people with substance problems has remained the same for years. It doesn’t necessarily attract more young people to heavy drinking,” she says.
Percentage of adolescents in secondary schools who have consumed alcohol in the past 12 months
2019: 53%
2013: 57%
Percentage of adolescents in secondary schools who have used drugs (especially cannabis) in the last few months
2019: 18%
2013: 24%
96%
Percentage of high school youth in Montreal who have no apparent problem with alcohol or drug use
Source: Quebec High School Tobacco, Alcohol, Drugs and Gambling Survey 2019
The same applies to the Psychosocial Research and Intervention Group (GRIP). The organization believes that the mechanism is fundamentally similar whether you are recruited through ads on social networks or through a reseller at school. Only the medium is changing, he says.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Roxanne Hallal, Substance Analysis Service Coordinator at GRIP
But what about contests and other promotions that some resellers offer on their accounts? “Even in the past we were given presents by the pushers. Cigarette papers, etc. says Roxanne Hallal, substance analysis service coordinator at GRIP.
For Laurence Veilleux, coordinator of training services at GRIP, the solution for parents concerned about their children’s use remains “good old communication”. Adding to the celebratory scene and intern at GRIP, Samuel Brillant-Kingsley, “banning social media is not a solution”. “It will make people want to buy the product otherwise,” he says.
Carole Demers emphasizes that “as with anything, when abuse occurs, you have to worry.” “It is up to parents, among other things, to educate young people about this. From education to social networks.”
“You always have your cell phone with you. They still have access to that. Parents have to work on that first and foremost,” she says.
* Fictitious first name