Instagram allows teens to buy “life-threatening drugs,” a recent study from Tech Transparency Project (TTP). TTP tests, carried out in the United States, show that with just a few clicks, users can access a range of drugs, normally on prescription.
The social network, which prohibits the purchase or sale of pharmaceutical products in its use policy, not only facilitates the search for drugs, but also helps to come “directly in contact with traffickers”, explains the TTP.
Indeed, it suffices to enter “buyxanax” in the search bar for the social network, without even having finished writing, to suggest Xanax reseller accounts to us. Some don’t even hide their business in the username, which says “buy Xanax now”.
Marketed by prescription in Canada, Xanax is a drug often used as a calming drug by people with anxiety disorders. Although it is “commonly prescribed”, Health Canada warns that there is a “risk of overdose and consumption disorder”.
After following a trafficker profile, the user may see Instagram recommending similar accounts to them, sometimes leading teens to discover new drugs, the TTP notes. The social network’s algorithm would then lead young users into a drug spiral.
Fake pharmacies
Once the account is found, all you have to do is contact the reseller using the contact details provided on the profile. The exchanges are most often done by phone, WhatsApp or Snapchat. Some accounts link to two websites, United Health Phamacy (note the absence of “r” in the word “pharmacy”) and United Online Pharma.
According to the TTP, these sites were created in May and October 2021. The first leaves no contact, apart from a WhatsApp number. The second has “hot deals” featuring all kinds of drugs. Ecstasy, codeine, ketamine, the market is open.
The tablets bought on Instagram are raising concern for researchers, since they strongly resemble counterfeits that can be cut from fentanyl, a potentially fatal opioid. L’United Health Phamacy affirms for its part wanting to prevent consumers from obtaining “a falsified version of the drug”, and provides free prescriptions with each sale.
According to the websiteUnited Online Pharma, orders are sorted in California and then distributed “to the United States, Canada and elsewhere, with the help of affiliates like USPS, FedEx, UPS, and DHL.”
If some accounts have disappeared since the publication of the study on December 7, the trend does not seem to be calming down. Several profiles have been created recently, showing posts that are less than three days old.