INDIANAPOLIS — The Drug Enforcement Agency is giving parents and educators insight into what emojis could be used to reference drugs with a new guide.
"Criminal organizations, including drug traffickers, have noticed and are using emojis to buy and sell counterfeit pills and other illicit drugs on social media through e-commerce," the DEA wrote in the pamphlet.
Drugs, methods of transportation, and dealers are given a specific emoji within the guide, which the DEA said were common throughout their investigations. Meth is represented with a 💎, heroin with a 🐉 and 🍇 for cough syrup.
More descriptions of drugs that can be indicated through emojis are also included within the pamphlet. The 🚀 emoji indicates a drug is particularly potent, while 🍁means a large batch of drugs according to the DEA's guide.
💯 could be a sign for 100 pills or 100 pack. The 🔌 emoji could be utilized in reference to a person capable of obtaining drugs for another person.
The DEA noted in their release, emojis by themselves are not indicative of criminal behavior, but should be noted in relation to changes in behavior, appearance or livelihood should start a conversation.
You can take a closer look at the full pamphlet here.
