You might have a few questions about drugs and the internet. You might have seen stories about the dark web, or heard that young people are buying drugs on Whatsapp or Snapchat.
This blog will hopefully answer some of your questions about drugs and the internet and may even give you a springboard to talk to your young person about what to do if they see drugs for sale online.
The Dark Web
Let’s start by clearing up a misconception. The deep web is not the same as the dark web. The deep web refers to areas of the internet that aren’t indexed by search engines. This means google essentially can’t see it. This makes up the majority of what’s out there, from your online banking or personal tax account, to your secure data cloud. Mostly these sites are not indexed for perfectly legitimate reasons. However, some sites aren’t indexed because they are doing something illegal and don’t want to be found.
When people talk about accessing the deep web, they’re not accessing your online banking. They’re using a special type of browser that makes it impossible to trace who and where they are. When we talk about people using the deep web, we generally mean someone who is using one of these browsers.
People might use a deep web browser because they don’t want anyone to know what they’re looking at, and whilst we might immediately assume that means they’re doing something they shouldn’t be, the deep web actually provides a really important function for people living in totalitarian states where the news is censored and anyone found to be accessing it could be imprisoned.
In fact, many people who work in cyber security in the UK will only use deep web browsers regardless of their online activity, and the most commonly accessed deep website is Facebook.
The dark web on the other hand, refers specifically to illegal activity which takes place on the deep web. It includes sites that sell drugs or weapons, places where people share illegal images of children and other illegal activities or services.
Often, people will use the terms Dark Web and Deep Web to mean the same thing, knowing which is which and getting people to clarify which they’re talking about can save a lot of worry and confusion.
If you find a TOR browser on your young person’s laptop, don’t panic. It could be there for a variety of reasons. It could be a good opportunity to have a discussion about what the deep web is, what the dark web is, and what concerns you have as a parent.
If a young person is buying drugs on the dark web there are a variety of risks, and some harm reduction advice to consider. (We’ve got a blog all about the importance of harm reduction which you can see here).
Young people using dark markets (online shops on the deep web) to buy drugs need to be aware of the following facts:
They are buying an illegal substance - doing this on the dark web doesn’t mean they’re free from the risk of prosecution, as police may track the package or even hack the dark market it was bought from (there have been stories in the press recently about exactly this happening, which you can see here).
Dark markets can look very legitimate, with reviews and images of the substance, which young people may say proves it’s not a scam. However, a recent Volteface podcast suggested that buying drugs from a seller with less 98% positive reviews could be risky as it’s easy to fake good reviews.
Even if good reviews are legitimate, sellers are dependent on their supply chain. They may have started off with pills that are fairly pure, but this can change, and the seller may not even be aware the change has happened.
Therefore the only reviews that matter are the most recent.
Sometimes young people can think dark markets are effectively a loophole in the law, so it’s useful to remind them that they’re not foolproof and that many arrests have been made following intelligence gathered from the dark web.
Social Media
It’s far more likely that young people who buy drugs online will do so through social media. Many young people report that they have seen drugs for sale on social media platforms, especially facebook, instagram and snapchat (you can check out the full study here). This happens through accounts that are run by dealers who will sometimes target young people because they are less aware of the risks and are more likely to be tempted by offers and deals.
The difference between drugs sold on social media and drugs sold on the dark web is vast. Dealers running social media accounts will likely have multiple accounts which may pop up and disappear in a short period of time, making any reviews meaningless, whereas dark web dealers will aim to keep one online store. Social media dealers will also be more likely to target young people than dark web dealers.
So how does it work? Well, pictures might be posted of substances for sale, with handwritten ‘menus’ of drugs but with innocent captions to get around the platform's monitoring. There will then be a number to text to place an order. Using encrypted messaging services like Whatsapp protects the dealer but not the young person as their phone could then be used as evidence against them. It’s useful to remind young people that encryption only stops people getting into their messages remotely.
Again, the biggest risk is that these drugs will be poor quality and there is unlikely to be any indication of appropriate dosage.
Testing should be a standard practice, but that won’t tell them what ‘one’ dose is considered to be, so the risk of overdose is high. The Loop have recently tested ecstasy pills which had 3 times the adult dose of MDMA, so one pill is not necessarily one dose (check them out on twitter).
A good rule of thumb with any substance is to start low and go slow - a quarter of a pill is a good place to start and waiting an hour (or longer if it’s a new substance/batch) to see what the effects are, before deciding whether to take any more.
You may have concerns about saying some of this to your young person, as it may seem to condone drug taking. However, it’s advice that could save their lives, or help them save someone else’s life. Having an open discussion about what the risks of drug use are is a good place to start. You could then ask them about what they might say if a friend was buying drugs on whatsapp and what advice they might give that friend to stay safe - if they say there is nothing that can reduce the risk, then it’s good to let them know there are things that could help, and make sure they know who to go to if they’re worried (a parent, a trusted teacher or they could contact YZUP direct on 01872 300816).
Conclusion
As we move more and more of our lives online, it’s no surprise that drug dealers are doing the same. Online activity can feel safer than doing something in real life (sending a text is much easier than approaching a stranger in a dark alley), however it’s important that young people know the risks of buying drugs online and the risks of those drugs. Having these conversations means young people will be better prepared should they be targeted by dealers, or have peers who are using drugs bought online.
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