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‘Russian roulette’ drug sold on Snapchat to Liverpool teenagers

Sakege November 10, 2024

Drugs tend to have the opposite effect that people expect.

Ryan Edwards, of Garmoyle Road, Liverpool, was jailed for a total of four years and six months for online drug dealing on social media.(Image: Merseyside Police)

A dangerous drug with unpredictable effects is being sold to Liverpool teenagers, according to city experts. “Pink cocaine” has appeared in media reports in recent weeks after it was reportedly found in Liam Payne’s system when the an address Estrella died after falling from the balcony of an Argentine hotel.

He ECHO understands that the misleadingly named drug, which gets its color from food dye, is now being sold to the city’s youth on Snapchat. Abigail Wilson, lead clinical pharmacist at We Are With You in Liverpool, said the substance is a “misnomer” because, despite what the name would suggest, it rarely contains cocaine.

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She said: “You don’t know what’s in it. It’s not like a pharmacy prescription. There is no regulation and no one checks it to make sure what is in it is what it says on the can. You never buy something you know.

“But ketamine It is usually always the base of the medication and has become much more available and cheaper, (hence) its growing popularity. Cutting it off with other drugs is something that will happen naturally in the future and that’s where pink cocaine comes into play.”

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Abigail explained that pink cocaine is primarily made up of ketamine and, in most cases, is mixed with class a drugs MDMA, 2C-B, and sometimes benzodiazepines and caffeine. Professionals have labeled it a “Russian roulette” drug because of its cocktail-like nature.

Pink cocaine mainly comes in powder form, to be snorted or mixed with alcohol, but it is also sold in capsule and liquid form. It is rarely injected. The effect, as Abigail explained, depends “to a large extent” on what the components are.

He added: “One thing we found is that when people take something labeled as cocaine, they expect cocaine-type effects. A state of alertness, a buzz… a fairly brief effect. While they are probably taking it, with the ketamine base, and this is a “downer”. Therefore, this would make you feel quite dizzy and shivering and can cause hallucinations and major problems with your movements.

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Abigail Wilson is WithYou’s Lead Clinical Pharmacist(Image: We are with you)

“If mixed with other drugs, it can affect your heart rate and breathing and can be very, very harmful. It can be reduced with a series of medications that have a complementary effect or the body can find it very difficult to handle, causing more damage in the long term.”

Abigail said it’s very difficult to determine where drugs come from, but she knows that “the Internet is a great place where people go to buy them.” It is believed that the drugs are mainly sold on Snapchat and this is due to the age demographic that uses pink cocaine.

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A Snapchat spokesperson said: “Criminals have no place on Snapchat and using the platform to buy or sell drugs is strictly against our rules. We use advanced technology to detect and remove any drug-related content and participating accounts, we work extensively with authorities and Continue to evolve our service to help keep our community safe.”

Snapchat Allegedly Used to Sell Drugs to Teenagers(Image: Kirsty O’Connor/PA Wire)

Earlier this year in July, Ryan Edwards, of Garmoyle Road, Liverpool, was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court for being concerned in the supply of MDMA, cocaine and other 2-C related class A drugs (pink cocaine) and ketamine. The 29-year-old’s case was related to online drug trafficking on social media.

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Abigail said: “Ketamine-based medications tend to be quite cheap and therefore make them more accessible to younger people, who probably don’t have the highest incomes. Especially teenagers.”

Ellie Halfpenny, also from We Are With You, a support service in Liverpool city centre, said the industry is in the process of “differentiating between pink cocaine problems and ketamine problems”. However, anecdotally, he said that ketamine itself is a “big problem in Liverpool” and that there is a “slight increase in the number of young people taking it again”.

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And he added: “It is not directly related to pink cocaine, but it is related to ketamine and cannabis, we see people, rather a minority, as young as 11 years old consuming these drugs.” Ketamine is an anesthetic used by doctors and veterinarians to relieve pain and induce unconsciousness. In January 2005 it became an illegal Class B recreational drug, also known by the names Ket and Special K.

When taken, the medication reduces sensations in the body, putting people at risk of injury. At high doses, the drug can cause people to experience feelings of dissociation, also known as the “k-hole.” Merseyside Police He told the ECHO that he is “aware of the existence of pink cocaine” and has seen cases within the region.

Police warning

The force urged people to “think twice” before taking the drugs. A spokesperson added: “Not only is it illegal to buy or sell drugs, but taking illegal substances can also be very dangerous and life-threatening. People who take any form of illegal drugs do not know what they contain, where they come from, or what effects they may have on them.

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“There are significant risks with any drug use, especially when it comes to drugs purchased on the streets from unregulated sources. The effects of drugs are not always evident immediately or may be delayed. “Sometimes this can cause people to take more to accelerate the effects, which can have devastating results.”

Anyone with information about the supply of illegal drugs is asked to contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. For more information about drug use and abuse, call FRANK on 0300 123 6600.

Stand WithYou is a youth service in Liverpool offering 121 support and family and group work support. Any young person facing challenges related to drug or alcohol use can call: 0151 706 9747 or complete the referral form on this page.