Irish teens buying drugs on Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok as parents warned – The Times

Drugs are now available to any teenager in Ireland who has access to wi-fi and a smartphone, regardless of where they live, what school they attend or their background. Every messaging app is being used — Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, even Tinder. The process is straightforward but has turbo-charged dealing.Take Instagram, where teenagers can trawl through the app looking for phrases like #weeddublin or the names of the drugs themselves. They can reach out to the owner of the account and begin direct messaging. Buyers sometimes meet face to face, or pay online and have their purchases posted to them.The size of the trade is indeterminable as it is illicit. Much of it goes on without the need for violence to recover unpaid debts
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