UNFPA has launched a chatbot in India called ‘Just Ask!’ – an Artificial Intelligence (AI) digital engagement platform for adolescents and young adults, aimed to help them learn about their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Read more
London Ambulance Service is introducing measures to reduce the risk of harm for people who engage in “chemsex” as new data shows that paramedics treat an average of one person a day from the effects of ‘hook-up drugs’. Read more
The Young Africa Live (YAL) smart bot is a free WhatsApp platform designed to help young people in South Africa (15 – 24) tackle the complex questions that arise during adolescence around love, sexuality, mental health, and overall wellbeing – all in a private and safe space that puts the answers at their fingertips. Read more
The world has made great gains in the control and treatment of HIV for adults and children, but young people are continuing to be left behind. It’s estimated there was a 45% increase in AIDS-related deaths between 2005 and 2015 among 15- to 19-year-olds globally, and AIDS is still the leading cause of death among young people in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more
PIXXTASY uses the power of NFTs and blockchain technology to fight against drug addiction and help people recover. Read more
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
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
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
The use of Telegram as a sales and communication platform for drugs has spread across Argentina, and Telegram-enabled crimes have increased by 350% in the last two years. Read more
Major drug markets in the Dark Web are now worth around $315 million annually according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Resecurity estimates this figure to be significantly higher in 2023, the annual sales of illegal drugs in the Dark Web for 2022 exceeded $470 million – which is the result of increased geopolitical tensions, global pandemics, and unprecedented growth of shadow economy internationally. Read more
