The advertisement flashed up on a Scottish vendor’s WhatsApp story – "Promo Offer!" It was offering a discount on your next purchase if you referred five more customers and the updated price list included further discounts for bulk buys. There was also a reminder to get orders in early as, because of lockdown restrictions, the delivery service ended at midnight rather than the usual 4 am. The language of the ad was indistinguishable from that of hundreds of other online retailers to send marketing emails and posts that day, but the products on sale raised an eyebrow: cocaine, ketamine, MDMA.

It made solid business sense for Glasgow’s drug dealers to adapt their marketing and sales strategy to meet the needs of consumers stuck at home during the pandemic. While face-to-face industries such as hospitality and tourism have suffered crippling economic damage, entertainment at home is thriving. Sales of drink-at-home alcohol have spiked. Netflix has gained more than 10 million subscribers. Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, has profited so much during the crisis that some estimates predict he’ll be the world’s first trillionaire.

Foreign Policy