While waiting at the Munich airport two weeks ago, Teega G. Eisner opened Instagram on his phone and noticed something troubling in his feed. “I started getting advertisements that were very vague, but undeniably for drugs,” Eisner said. “I was really taken aback with the boldness of some of them.” Screenshots shared with CTV News show pictures of white substances, in powder and rock form, posted under several different accounts, with each post labelled as “sponsored.” Eisner said he clicked one of the advertisements and was directed to a website with a red maple leaf, promising a “safe and reliable source to buy ketamine online in Canada.” He quickly reported the posts to Instagram, and hoped that would be the last he’d see of them. By the time he arrived back home in British Columbia, however, there were more, including on Facebook. “It kept happening again, and again, and again,” Eisner said. According to the RCMP, mail-order websites are a growing part of the illicit drug trade – and combating them is part of the national police force’s efforts to tackle both local and international organized crime. In a statement, RCMP spokesperson Robin Percival said investigators are using “advanced cybertools” to crack down on the suppliers and their networks. “These efforts are essential to protecting public safety and reducing the harm caused by organized crime and the illegal drug trade,” Percival said. Concerns about ‘active listening’ The sponsored posts were particularly concerning for Eisner, because the young Vancouver resident has been in recovery for ketamine abuse for three years. “I know that if I were any less far in my recovery, it would have really harmed me and threatened my sobriety,” Eisner said. “Just like I know it will hurt anyone else in the same situation.” He also found the timing highly suspicious. Eisner had been in Austria to visit family for the first time in a decade, and had decided to have a difficult conversation with them – revealing his past issues with ketamine. Eisner said at one point he recounted how, early in his sobriety, his friends stepped in to stop him from ordering the drug from a similar online supplier. He said that was the closest he ever came to relapsing. The Instagram ads appeared in Eisner’s feed “about 24 hours later,” he said. “All of a sudden, I’m being targeted,” he said. Many social media users have experienced seeing an advertisement shortly after discussing a similar product or service – vacations to a specific city, a particular brand of clothing. A number of news stories have debunked the notion that major social media apps are “actively listening” to users to glean information that could pair them with advertisers, and Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has repeatedly denied doing so. CTV News reached out to Meta this week to relay Eisner’s concerns about illicit drugs being sold on Instagram and Facebook. In response, the company confirmed it had removed all of the pages he flagged. “Content that attempts to buy, sell or trade drugs illicitly is not allowed on Facebook or Instagram,” a spokesperson said, in a statement. “This challenge is bigger than any single platform – we have robust measures in place to detect and remove such content, and we’re working with non-profit organizations, law enforcement and other social media companies to tackle these issues.” The spokesperson did not answer questions about how those particular posts appeared on Eisner’s feed, including whether it’s possible the pages had used the word “ketamine” to define their target audience, or whether Meta apps actively listen to users. The company did confirm it is consistently updating and refining its filters with new terms and hashtags to block these kinds of pages from appearing. Posts advertising precursor chemicals are also against Meta’s policies. One violation will result in the disabling of an account, the company said. ‘Not conducive to recovery’ Eisner told CTV News he continues to see unwanted ketamine ads from new accounts in his feed, and he’s heard from several other people in recovery having the same problem. He’s been disappointed there are apparently ways for pages like these to continue popping up, particularly given how much of his time and energy he dedicates to helping others with substance abuse issues. Eisner works with Good Night Out Vancouver, an educational non-profit, on its “nightlife street team” that provides support to people leaving bars and clubs. For Eisner, that means working late hours in the Granville Entertainment District, sometimes using his own experiences to help others considering their own recovery journey. “We respond to people in crisis because of having over-indulged, or having been drugged, and we help people in very vulnerable points in their lives,” he said. In his spare time, Eisner also draws cartoons under the artist name SneakyStripes (Warning: Mature content) about substance use, recovery, and party safety. His goal, in part, is to destigmatize conversations around drugs so people feel more comfortable seeking help, something he believes there needs to be more of on social media. “It’s so easy to fall into an environment that’s not conducive to recovery, especially on the internet,” he said.
