However, Weedmaps recently came under fire from Lori Ajax, California’s marijuana regulator, who said the company could face civil or criminal charges if it doesn’t stop promoting 900 unlicensed dispensaries in the state. When a visitor lands in Portland, Denver or San Francisco, they might not know the local dispensary or product names, but they know to check Weedmaps to find out.

With customers on both US coasts, Canada and Spain, it’s one of very few international marijuana brands. As it is a technology company, content posted on its site by users isn’t regulated – even if that content relates to illegal practices. While federal illegality in the US makes it very difficult for a company to sell cannabis in more than one state, Weedmaps faces no such constraints. The company has been among the breakout success stories of legalization thus far. Weedmaps (sometimes called Yelp for pot) the smartphone app Weedmaps enables users to locate dispensaries and delivery services selling the green stuff. In addition to the (mis)use of mainstream apps, there are also a number of apps dedicated to accessing drugs.įor a full rundown, check out this article by Annie Lesser but dedicated apps which piqued my interest for their ingenuity and entrepreneurship include: It should have come into force on 6 April 2016 and is now scheduled for some time in Spring this year - the reasons for the delay are set out in this Guardian article by Alan Travis. In the UK, this means of selling New Psychoactive Substances or legal highs will soon (probably) be illegal once the government decides to implement the New Psychoactive Substance Act. Online dealers mostly sell their drugs as “research” even though pills are put in bottles or blister packs and powders in capsules. This would seem to make it fairly easy for different police forces to boost their arrest rates. While online payments such as bitcoin and pre-paid gift cards such as Vanilla Visa are encrypted, Ms Borromeo says that more traceable measures such as unattributed bank transfers and PayPal are also used. In the case of Tinder, potential customers can swipe through profiles until they find a dealer and match with them.īuyers can either meet face-to-face or pay online and have their purchases posted to them. The customer then contacts the owner of the account and the deal moves along through direct messages. On Instagram, people looking to buy drugs simply search via hashtags such as #weed4sale or the names of the drugs themselves (#mdma, #mephedrone etc). I have just (4 April 2018) updated the post with another app running in to legal challenges – weedmap. In a 2016 article for the Guardian, Leah Borromeo ( explored the use of such mainstream apps as Instagram, Tinder, Kik and Depop for drug dealing. While there are an increasing number of apps designed to help drug and alcohol users in recovery, drug dealers are also taking advantage of apps to increase their customer base. Technological advances tend to be amoral and human beings use them for good and ill. Transforming Rehabilitation Resource Pack.Young Adults in contact with the justice system.

Racial disparity and the criminal justice system.

Women in contact with the justice system.

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