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Automating Detection of Drug-Related Harms on Social Media: Machine Learning Framework

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A hallmark of unregulated drug markets is their unpredictability and constant evolution with newly introduced substances. People who use drugs and the public health workforce are often unaware of the appearance of new drugs on the unregulated market and their type, safe dosage, and potential adverse effects. This increases risks to people who use drugs, including the risk of unknown consumption and unintentional drug poisoning. Early warning systems (EWSs) can help monitor the landscape of emerging drugs in a given community by collecting and tracking up-to-date information and determining trends. However, there are currently few ways to systematically monitor the appearance and harms of new drugs on the unregulated market in Canada. Read more

Overwhelming amount of social posts in Hong Kong use NFTs to promote drug ad campaigns

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The number of social media posts about drugs on Hong Kong’s internet has tripled in six years, where hashtags, animation characters, and NFTs are often used to promote ad campaigns about drugs, according to a survey of Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups’ Youth Crime Prevention Center. Read more

Widespread use of crypto, Telegram leads to surge in teen drug crimes in Korea

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This summer, South Korean police busted an online drug cartel circulating methamphetamine and MDMA via an encrypted messaging app. The mastermind, as it turned out, was no Pablo Escobar but an 18-year old looking to earn some extra spending cash. Read more

Tech is Changing the Way People Score and Sell Drugs in India

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According to data from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India, there are 100 million drug users in the country, with consumption rising 70 percent in the last eight years. In Bengaluru alone, there has been a nearly 10-fold increase in cases over the last three years, with India’s Silicon Valley registering the highest number of cases related to narcotics in the country in 2020. News reports and online forums refer to people’s phones being snatched, with cops searching their chat and photo applications for keywords like “score,” “ganja” and “pot”. Read more

Signals of increasing co-use of stimulants and opioids from online drug forum data

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Despite recent rises in fatal overdoses involving multiple substances, there is a paucity of knowledge about stimulant co-use patterns among people who use opioids (PWUO) or people being treated with medications for opioid use disorder (PTMOUD). A better understanding of the timing and patterns in stimulant co-use among PWUO based on mentions of these substances on social media can help inform prevention programs, policy, and future research directions. This study examines stimulant co-mention trends among PWUO/PTMOUD on social media over multiple years. Read more

The Liam Project: Student-led harm reduction initiative launches in memory of a loved one

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Two years to the date after their friend died from a drug overdose, three University of Calgary students launched a harm-reduction platform to honour his memory and educate for safer drug use. Read more