Sunshine Sentinel

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is continuing the Idle Time: A Summer Safety Series with a guide for parents on popular emojis used to hide the buying or selling of drugs. Drug dealers that lurk on social media websites or messaging apps often use emoji codes to sell dangerous substances. Attorney General Moody’s Idle Time series aims to help parents safeguard their children from summer-related threats—the latest installment clarifies secret codes used by teens to purchase illicit drugs.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Language is changing and emojis are becoming more popular—especially among youths. Online drug dealers use emoji codes to peddle dangerous substances to our kids through social media. As Attorney General and as a mother, I am bringing clarity to the drug codes to help parents spot a request for an illicit purchase.”

Emojis are commonly used in text and online messaging as a way to show emotion in messages. Unfortunately, certain emojis are adopted by individuals to be used in drug-related activities as covert symbols. These coded messages can easily go unnoticed by unsuspecting parents.

To assist parents in identifying potential emoji-based drug references, Attorney General Moody compiled a list of commonly-used emojis that may indicate drug-related discussions:

Adderall

Cocaine

Dealer Advertising

High Potency

Meth

Percocet and Oxycodone

XANAX 

More resources for parents can be found at Dose of Reality Florida, a one-stop resource for Floridians to learn about the dangers of opioid misuse, how to receive support for addiction and where to drop off unused prescription drugs. To learn more about Dose of Reality Florida, click here.

To view previous installments of Idle Time: A Summer Safety Series, visit MyFloridaLegal.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy8oUCkW8f0 

Original source can be found here.