Drug dealers target children on Instagram with dangerous new edible cannabis craze
THEY look like familiar chocolate treats from giant confectionery brands Mars or Smarties – and most children would be only too eager to try them.
But these innocent-looking ‘sweets’, advertised on social media site Instagram, are packed full of high-strength cannabis.
An investigation by The Mail on Sunday has exposed the shocking trade in illegal ‘medibles’ – marijuana edibles – across the UK.
Brazen drug dealers use Instagram to push cakes and chocolate bars laced with powerful THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis.
Clearly targeted at young people, the food products are designed to look and taste just like popular sweets such as Mars, M&Ms and Smarties – and can be bought at the click of a button.
Yet they include dangerous levels of THC, which is known to increase the risk of developing psychotic illnesses including schizophrenia.
Last night Mars and Nestlé, which makes Smartvendors’ ies, criticised the use of their world-famous brands and warned lawyers were investigating.
We passed our dossier to police, who warn the trade in illegal edible drugs is now a multinational business and said children were at particular risk because of the hijacking of familiar brands.
Undercover reporters were able to buy hundreds of pounds worth of edible cannabis products after contacting dealers via Instagram.
So competitive is the market that the sellers post daily ‘deals’ and even competitions on their Instagram pages, which have thousands of ‘followers’ – some of whom appear to be schoolchildren wearing uniforms.
The Scotland Edibles Instagram page, one of the biggest suppliers in the UK, has almost 6,000 followers. Daily photos and videos posted on the page show fake Mars, Smarties and M&Ms-branded cannabis products, which are sold on to dealers to flog to the public.
Images posted on the page also show the man behind the illegal firm wearing a Rolex watch, driving an Audi SUV and sailing his own boat at the weekends.
Scotland Edibles tells prospective buyers to contact one of its ‘certified who can deliver or organise postage to other parts of the UK and overseas.
We contacted vendors in Glasgow and Perth last week, who agreed to meet us a few hours later. Using Instagram’s messaging service we were sent a ‘menu’ with a variety of sweet treats plus three strains of skunk – sold by the quarter ounce – and THC liquid, which can be added to drinks and e-cigarettes.
We agreed to buy a £100 haul of vacuum-packed ‘Mars’-branded cannabis chocolate bars and cakes via a dealer calling himself the Glasgow Gardener on the city’s South Side.
He arrived in a silver VW Golf GTi and handed over the medibles in a brown paper bag, at a prearranged rendezvous in the street in daylight.
Bearded and in his mid-thirties, he opened the glove box and armrest, packed with drugs, joking: ‘I’ve got tons of hiding places in here.’ He also sold us a quarter ounce of ‘Toxic’ skunk for £70.
Each ‘Mars’-branded cannabis cake, which contains 150mg of THC, cost £15 while each Smarties chocolate ‘melt’ – which can be added to hot milk – cost £20.
The dealer warned our female
‘I wouldn’t sell it if I didn’t think it was good. I use it myself’ ‘I’ve tons of hiding places in here’
undercover reporter the chocolate was ‘very strong’ and only to eat a third of a cake to ensure she was not ‘knocked out’. He said: ‘They
‘Made from skunk so they pack a punch’ ‘A significant increase, it’s a growing market’
are made from skunk so they pack a punch. They take about 15 to 20 minutes to kick in so be careful at first.
‘I wouldn’t sell it if I didn’t think it was good. I use it myself. I bought just over £3,000 worth of the Scotland Edibles stuff and have never had a bad word to say about them.’
A dealer in Perth, calling himself Perth Edibles, agreed to sell us two 250mg Scotland Edibles ‘Mars’ chocolate bars – with even more THC – for £25 each.
The young man, who was wearing a black hoodie and met us in a retail park filled with families, said: ‘I smoke quite a lot of weed and I ate one of those bars and I was absolutely wasted, mate.
‘I thought I heard voices and thought the police were looking for me… It was scary but it was good.’
He handed over the drugs in a JD Sports plastic bag before heading off on foot to meet another ‘buyer’.
Meanwhile, undercover reporters in east London attended a farmers’ market-style medibles event in Bethnal Green, advertised on Instagram, where a variety of cannabisinfused treats were on sale at stalls. Punters paid £15 admission and were able to purchase as many ‘artisan’ sweets as they wished from dealers, for as little as £2 for a hardboiled sweet containing 20mg of THC.
Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, the maximum penalty for cannabis possession is a five-year jail term. Anyone supplying it can face up to 14 years and an unlimited fine.
A spokesman for Mars Wrigley said: ‘We strongly condemn the unlawful use of our chocolate brands on these illegal products. We will be conducting an investigation on the misuse of our branding, which is grossly irresponsible.’
Nestlé said: ‘This irresponsible and illegal act could have very serious consequences and we are extremely concerned by the misuse of our brand in this way. We are relieved to see this is now in the hands of the police.’
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs said: ‘This is no different from openly dealing drugs on the street.
‘The fact they are being packaged to look appealing to children makes it all the more disgraceful.’
Detective Constable Greig Baxter, of Police Scotland’s specialist drugs unit, said: ‘We have seen a significant increase in the number of individuals buying and selling edible cannabis products, or medibles, in recent years. It is a growing market.
‘Some of the dealers are now operating huge operations almost like multinational companies – with managing directors and distributors. It is a trend, as the use of ecstasy was once a trend. It means you don’t need to smoke to consume the drug.
‘However, an edible chocolate bar can contain considerable levels of high-grade cannabis. As it is mixed with food, the dosage is much harder to control and certain chunks may have greater quantities of THC. It means medibles can carry even more of a health risk than smoking the drug.
‘Labelling these chocolate products with popular brands could make these products more appealing to a child. It looks like a treat but it is dangerous, particularly to a young person.’
He added: ‘Make no mistake, this is on our radar and we are actively monitoring social media sites. Anyone caught supplying medible products should know it could result in a prison sentence.’
Professor Keith Humphreys, of King’s College London, warned edibles can make cannabis ‘more appealing’ as it combines the high with a human’s natural drive for fat and sugar.
Instagram said it employs a team working 24/7 to remove content or accounts that violate its community guidelines, but dealers still operate freely and, even if shut down, simply reappear using the same branding and logos.
Accounts often use coded terms such as ‘420’ or ‘THC’ to mask the fact they are selling drugs.