This week, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody continued her “Idle Time: A Summer Safety Series” by offering parents information on popular emojis are 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. 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.
“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,” Moody said
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, Moody and the DEA compiled a list of commonly-used emojis that may indicate drug-related discussions.
