Buying cannabis online was 'like ordering takeout pizza'

Ex-drug user says private chat groups in messaging apps made it convenient

- Zaihan Mohamed Yusof and Nadine Chua

After studying for his exams while at university, Andy (not his real name) would call his supplier for a 3g bag of cannabis, a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant.

He would transfer $50 to a bank account, collect his supply from a hiding spot and smoke cannabis-laced cigarettes to mark the end of his exams.

"It was like ordering takeout pizza," said the former cannabis abuser, who works in the design industry. He started using the drug, also known as weed, ganja and marijuana, when he was 20 years old.

Andy, now 26, said the Covid-19 pandemic made such transactions even more convenient despite the initial movement restrictions.

All he had to do was choose from the many suppliers on private chat groups in messaging apps such as Telegram. While it was pricier, Andy was guaranteed that his supply would be delivered close to his home, sometimes tucked behind water pipes and riser cabinets in public housing estates.

"Buying weed online became easier during the pandemic. If my supply dried up, there was usually someone in my circle of friends who had some weed to share when we got together," he said.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in its World Drug Report 2022 that the previous downward trend of global cannabis seizures was reversed in 2020 during the pandemic. It offered several reasons for this, including an upsurge in use of contactless methods to deliver drugs to end-consumers.

There was also an increase in cannabis seizures in Singapore. The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), at the release of its yearly drug report on Feb 15, said cannabis seized in 2022 hit 133.25kg, up from 107.08kg the previous year.