Politics
DEA Promotes Guide To ‘Decode’ Drug Emojis, Saying The Shocked Face Represents Marijuana 😮
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is marking “World Emoji Day” by again promoting its guide to “decode” symbols that it claims are associated with illegal drug use and sales.
“While emojis can be fun and can convey a variety of emotions, they can also be used by drug traffickers to sell fake prescription pills and other illegal drugs to youth,” DEA said in a bulletin published on Thursday.
“For instance, did you know that a banana (🍌) can symbolize fake prescription oxycodone? Or that the 8-ball emoji — 🎱 — can indicate cocaine?” the agency said.
DEA’s emoji decoding guide has been around, and somewhat updated, since 2021, drawing some criticism from consumers who’ve questioned the credibility of the agency’s interpretation of how people communicate about drugs in texts and social media.
The version DEA shared in its notice on Thursday was rolled out last year as part of its #OnePillCanKill campaign.
There are some more obvious examples: Pill emojis that DEA says signal sales of anything from Xanax to MDMA; a snowflake emoji for cocaine; a mushroom emoji for psychedelic mushrooms.
But there are others that might give consumers some pause.
For example, DEA says a brown heart or dragon emoji means heroin, and it claims a cookie emoji means a “large batch” of illicit drugs.
It also says emojis for fire, wind, pine trees and clovers mean marijuana. As does the shocked face (😮).
A red maple leaf, meanwhile, is a universal stand-in for any drug, DEA said.
“This reference guide is intended to give parents, caregivers, educators, and other influencers a better sense of how emojis are being used in conjunction with illegal drugs,” the agency said. “Fake prescription pills, commonly laced with deadly fentanyl and methamphetamine, are often sold on social media and e-commerce platforms—making them available to anyone with a smartphone.”
DEA, which is currently involved in a stalled-out process to reschedule marijuana—has long been considered out of touch with youth culture as it concerns drug use and sales. And it’s been partnering with other anti-drug groups recently that hasn’t done much to disabuse the public of that perception.
For instance, to mark “National Prevention Week,” DEA promoted a campaign in May that encourages people to share memes with dubious claims about the effects of cannabis—including the theory that it is a “gateway drug” to using other substances.
The “Just Say Know” campaign wasn’t directly organized by DEA; rather, it was coordinated by the organization Johnny’s Ambassadors, which was founded parents who say their child died by suicide after consuming high-potency marijuana concentrates. But the federal agency hosted the memes on two of its taxpayer-funded websites and sent email blasts to promote them.
In 2023, DEA also advised young people that, rather than doing drugs, they should focus on becoming Instagram influencers. The agency promoted tips on how to get a “natural high” as an alternative to drugs, sharing what it said were “7 Better Highs” such as becoming famous on Instagram, playing video games and going to a pet store to look at animals.
Beyond its youth prevention outreach efforts, DEA is actively considering a proposal to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
DEA recently notified an agency judge that the marijuana rescheduling process remains stalled under the Trump administration.
It’s been over six months since DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney temporarily paused hearings on a proposal to move cannabis to Schedule III. And in a joint report to the judge submitted earlier this month, DEA attorneys and rescheduling proponents said they’re still at an impasse.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay/terimakasih0.
