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Contact The Recovery Village today to find out what we can do for you and your child. Teenagers can often find substances they can use to get high right in their own homes. The medicine and liquor cabinets at home are frequently the targets of teens who either abuse drugs or alcohol themselves or sell them to other students at school. Teenage drug dealers operate in shrouds of secrecy around campus, potentially making deals on a regular basis. The CDC reports that 21.8% of all high school students say that they have been sold, given or offered drugs on school property.
Understanding the Risks and Considerations
After customers ordered drugs over an encrypted messaging app, a deliveryman would arrive later the same day to distribute the drugs. When a customer logs into an app like Whisper looking to score, the person faces a barrage of marketing strategies. A search of a few common terms—420, OG Kush, Kush4Sale—leads you to confessions from teens about getting high, lonely users seeking stoned hookups (“420 and chill”), individuals looking for drugs to buy, and dealers. If you know or suspect that your teenager is abusing drugs or alcohol, they need help before they suffer serious health and academic consequences.
Machine-learning software to snare scammers hawking fake COVID-19 test kits on social media is being built by a tiny startup funded by ACCO expert Dr Tim K Mackey. The complaint, which was obtained by The Washington Post, includes dozens of pages of screenshots of opioids and other drugs for sale on Facebook and its photo-sharing site Instagram. Eight parents mourn children poisoned by deadly pills bought on Snapchat. Read the NBC News article featuring ACCO members from VOID and the Alexander Neville Foundation. This type of healthy emotional and mental wellbeing, experts say, could put them in an emotionally stable place, such that they reject drugs when offered to them. Also not fresh news is the fact that teens may gravitate towards drug use.
But some of us are fortunate enough to get a steady, safer supply delivered right to our doorsteps at prices that cannot be beat. It’s important to acknowledge that many marginalized people who use drugs, who may have no reliable internet access, are excluded from these benefits. As of last fall, there were nearly two dozen dark net drug markets of various sizes, according to a research paper by Meropi Tzanetakis of the University of Oslo and the University of Vienna. A Canadian company is betting that illegal drugs such as cocaine are going to follow the path of cannabis. Consumers can identify the very few legitimate online pharmacies by first visiting the websites of trustworthy groups that vet such businesses to identify the ones that comply with local laws (see box on page 7). One of the best is the NABP website, which accredits those online pharmacies that comply with U.S. laws and pharmacy-practice standards.
In contrast, the vast majority of online pharmacies make evading the laws part of their business models by selling expensive, high-risk or addictive drugs without prescriptions and without complying with regulatory standards. These dangerous practices allow them to offer drugs at artificially low prices. When the NABP recently reviewed more than 10,000 online pharmacies, it found that 97 percent of these websites violate pharmacy laws and practice standards. Half offered drugs that were foreign or not FDA-approved, and approximately 87 percent did not require a valid prescription from a health care provider.
These dark web marketplaces required users to trade in digital currencies, primarily Bitcoin, and the marketplaces did not allow for transactions in official, government-backed fiat currency. Drug sales on the dark web now amount to 315 million dollars annually, up from 80 million dollars annually just in 2017. Some platforms further mislead the user by blending recommended content with credible advertisements and pages or accounts the user has knowingly followed, reinforcing the user’s notion that the content they are viewing is from a trusted source. This may seem harmless, but when an individual is searching to buy a drug, the platform will deliver more drug-related ads, pages, and hashtags to a user’s feed, further enabling the illicit activity.
Second, hot spot and zero tolerance policing can lead to riskier behavior by those involved in drug dealing and using. For example, heroin dealers might adapt to the increased police presence by storing and distributing heroin caps orally (Spicer, 2021), and users may engage in riskier practices such as sharing of syringes (Bourgois & Schonberg, 2009). Similarly, disrupting cryptomarkets that are mostly involved in the selling of cannabis products can lead to adaptations that lead buyers and users to more dangerous online behaviors or more dangerous drugs. Finally, this style of policing disproportionately affects small-scale drug users and dealers in urban areas where supply and demand are both operating under economic strain (Netherland & Hansen, 2016; Saxe et al., 2001; Spooner & Hetherington, 2004). As noted above, the growth of online drug transactions appears to have been driven by the greater purchasing of relatively small quantities of marijuana. Thus, just as hot spot zero tolerance policing disproportionately affects small-scale dealers and users, heightened policing of online transactions is likely to affect users rather than large-scale dealers.
- Contact my Minneapolis law office to have a knowledgeable criminal defense attorney on your side.
- In fact, a recent review by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) found that a staggering 97 percent of these websites violate pharmacy laws and practice standards.
- Some of these drugs include ingredients you wouldn’t want to put in your body — things like talcum powder, paint, and printer ink.
- At the time of its closure by United States (US) law enforcement in 2013, the site had generated around $15 million in transactions yearly.
Products sold by illegal online pharmacies are often manufactured in unsafe conditions, with no quality control. They contain little or no active ingredients, and in some cases are manufactured using dangerous and potentially deadly substances. Buying medications from these illegal online pharmacies is very dangerous. In benign cases, these businesses might simply be providing sugar pills.
When searching for where to buy drugs online, it is crucial to understand the legal and health risks involved. The internet can seem like a convenient place to purchase various substances, but the consequences can be severe.
Legal Implications
What To Do If You Suspect Your Child Is Buying Drugs Online
Purchasing drugs online can lead to serious legal ramifications including:
- Criminal charges
- Fines and penalties
- Imprisonment
Health Risks
In addition to legal issues, there are significant health concerns associated with buying drugs online:
- Potential for counterfeit drugs
- Lack of quality control
- Risk of overdose
Identifying Legitimate Sources
If one is still considering the option of where to buy drugs online, it is crucial to distinguish between reputable and illicit sources. Here are some steps to guide your search:
Look for Licensed Pharmacies
Ensure that the online pharmacy is licensed in your country and is compliant with national regulations. Key indicators include:
- A physical address and phone number
- Verification seals from national pharmacy boards
- Requesting a valid prescription from a healthcare professional
Check Reviews and Ratings
Research customer reviews and ratings to gauge the reliability of the website. Reliable sources often have:
- Positive customer testimonials
- Established social media presence
- Transparency about their operations
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the legal consequences of buying drugs online?
The legal consequences can vary depending on the jurisdiction, but individuals can face serious penalties, including fines and imprisonment.
How can I avoid counterfeit drugs?
To minimize the risk of obtaining counterfeit drugs, always purchase from reputable, licensed pharmacies and seek advice from healthcare professionals.
Are there safer alternatives to buying drugs online?
Yes, consulting a medical professional for a prescription and obtaining medication through legitimate pharmacies is the safest alternative.
Conclusion
While the internet may provide a plethora of options, considering where to buy drugs online should be approached with caution. Be aware of the legal and health ramifications, and always prioritize safety by choosing legitimate sources.
