NBC NEWS – Aug 2 – "Today with Grindr, men can have sex and drugs delivered to their door instantly," said Phil McCabe, a social worker and president of the National Association of LGBT Addiction Professionals. Grindr has previously taken steps to address the buying, selling and promoting of drugs on its platform. However, those who use the app say it is still home to a robust market for illicit substances. The terms "parTy and play" and the acronym "PNP," which can be seen on Grindr and beyond, are used by some gay men to describe a sexual encounter while under the influence of drugs. Beyond code words, there's also a plethora of symbols and emojis that are used to indicate drugs. Grindr users discreetly reference crystal meth by putting a diamond emoji in their profile, and snowflake emojis are used to get the attention of those looking to purchase cocaine. According to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1.4M people in the U.S. used methamphetamines in 2016, and gay men use the drug at double the rate of the general population. Under U.S. law, Grindr is not required to do anything when it comes to moderating drug-related content on its app. Like all websites and apps, the gay dating platform is protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.
